Vegas, Baby!
by plainjanedee
Summary: It's Bella's birthday weekend and she's meeting her friends in Vegas. Jacob is going to Vegas for a wedding and all his friends are already there, too. They're on the same cancelled flight, so they rent a car together to drive to Vegas from LAX. AU - [Jacob/Bella] Bella/Jacob, Embry/OC, Paul/OC, Wolf Pack, OC's - MA - we're making hard lemonade in here. You've been warned.
1. 1 - Feeling Lucky

**Disclaimer**: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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**A/N - Hello! This is a lengthy version of a flash fic I wrote based on the song Hotel California by the Eagles. I don't expect it to be too long, but in my head, it's a lot of fun. And who doesn't love a weekend in Vegas?**

**This is a Jacob/Bella fic, make no mistake. But as a thank you to some of the other writers who aren't as into Jacob as I am, but who write, read and review politely anyway, there will be some bonus bits with other members of the pack, as well. I could tell you those pairings, but won't it be more fun to find out who hooks up over the weekend, as it happens?**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy it! If you do, I'd love to hear about it in that box at the bottom. :)**

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Feeling Lucky

"Damn! Double Damn!" I cursed, glaring at the display board that showed my cancelled flight. My friends were already in Vegas for MY birthday weekend and I'm stranded at LAX. All because my stupid boss and his stupid wife decided to go on a spontaneous couple's weekend, thereby over-riding my vacation day, which was scheduled two months ago! And now the damn plane was grounded for mechanical issues and it was the last scheduled flight for the night. _Damn! Damn! Damn!_ I resisted the strong urge to stamp my foot, but it was difficult.

While the other non-passengers left the gate, I was trying to decide what to do and not break down in tears while I thought. I glanced up and saw a man whose face resembled how I felt. As I took him in, I realized he was insanely good looking. Seriously, he could be a model, he was _that_ gorgeous. Tall with black hair standing up because he'd been running his hands through it, beautiful big brown eyes and a perfect mouth… he had lips that were made to be kissed. My gaze, finally leaving that sinful pucker, drifted over his ridiculously broad shoulders and the outline of… _oh, god, is that an 8-pack showing through his tight t-shirt?_ I bit my lip, holding back an appreciative groan. As I was ogling him, he was furiously working his smartphone and his head jerked up and then fell back, with his eyes closed and he was mumbling, "Yes! Oh, you're one lucky motherfucker, Black!" and then he was back to poking and pushing on his cell screen.

I sighed heavily, and pulled my own cell out so I could text Angela and tell her I was going to have to wait and take a flight in the morning. I couldn't help but pout. I should be sipping cocktails and feeding quarters into a slot machine by now! Or half-drunk, wearing my new purple mini-dress and dancing my ass off in some club! With my lip out as far as it could go, I sent the text to Ange, and gathered my things to go outside and find a shuttle back to my apartment.

Just then, the hot guy said, "Dammit! This is total bullshit!" I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. He glanced up and happened to catch my eye. Suddenly, his eyebrows shot up and he marched over to me with a desperate, crazy look in his eyes. My eyes must have shown my wariness at this strange attitude, because he started smiling and showed me his hands, palm up. Before I could react, he was talking, "Hi, my name is Jacob Black. You were supposed to be on the flight to Vegas, right?" I nodded, and he kept going, "I really need to be in Vegas by morning and you looked pretty upset that the flight was cancelled, too. I was able to reserve a car and it's only a few hours drive from here. How would you feel about sharing the ride?" I thought about it quickly. He was a stranger. He could be a serial killer. Or a rapist. But when I looked at him, I didn't think he'd actually _have_ to rape anyone. I could always give Angela all his info, so if I went missing, they'd know where to start looking. And I really did want to get to Vegas tonight.

I looked up at him and he was waiting for me to say something. "Hi, I'm Bella," I introduced myself with a smile, "So, how much is the rental car?"

He said, "It's nice to meet you, Bella. And have I got a deal for you! See, you have to have a credit card to rent the car and I don't have one with me. I'll pay for the car, I have the cash, but we'd have to put it on your credit card, if you have one," he stared at me, hopefully.

I liked this idea. He'd have to give up his info at the rental counter and there would be a paper trail tying us together. And I could go to Vegas tonight. I felt much better about this whole thing. "Yes! I have a card! Let's do it!" His smile broke out like the sun coming out from behind the clouds, "Great! Thank you so much! This is good, let's go to the rental counter, so we can hit the road as soon as possible!" I grabbed my rolling overnight case and my backpack and we took off through the airport.

Half an hour later, he was throwing our bags in the trunk and I asked him if he wanted me to drive first. He shook his head, and said, "I'm good, I'm so pumped on adrenalin right now, I need to drive." I nodded, and headed for the passenger seat. Somehow, we ended up with a convertible, and he put the top down. I put my hair in a ponytail, and we took off.

Before long, we were on the 15, driving through the desert with the wind whipping through our hair. It was a beautiful summer night, a crystal clear sky blanketed in stars and a full moon following us. I could smell the desert flowers perfuming the air as we drove. I was relaxed and feeling cheerful. This had been a great idea. I turned to look at Jacob and asked him why he had to be in Vegas by morning. He kept his eyes on the road and said, "I have to be at a wedding in the morning."

"Yours?" I questioned.

He chuckled warmly, "Nope. My best friend, Embry, is getting married and I'm the best man. I have the rings, and he's worried that I won't get there in time. Right now, there are about 9 guys, who look a lot like me, stampeding the strip clubs disguised as a bachelor party. And about half that many women hitting up the dance clubs in tiara's and bachelorette banners scamming free drinks out of every guy they bump into. What about you, Bella? What's waiting in Vegas for you?"

I looked out the window, and sighed, "A few of my friends are there waiting for me. We planned this weekend for my birthday a couple of months ago, but I got stuck working today at the last minute. So, my friends are having my birthday without me."

"Is your birthday today or tomorrow?" Jacob asked.

"It's tomorrow," I told him.

"That's great! Happy Birthday, Bella! What are you doing to celebrate?" Jacob asked.

"Well, we were going to gamble tonight. I'm planning on baking myself by the pool tomorrow and then my girlfriends are treating us to some spa treatments before we go out tomorrow night. I don't know which club they decided on; I think they were going to get the concierge to recommend somewhere."

"Hey, maybe we can meet up for a drink tomorrow evening! The wedding is early in the day, and then there will be a lunch reception. I'm sure Embry and Chrissi will disappear after a few hours and we should all be on our own by 7. Not all of us have a girlfriend or a wife, so the other single guys and I were planning on going out. Why don't you let me know what club you end up at, and my brothers and I will meet you and your friends there," Jacob said, excitedly.

I could not believe that he was single. That was blowing my mind. He was totally hot, sexy as hell, and if that wasn't enough, he was _sweet_. A genuinely nice guy who was funny and friendly and, like a birthday gift from God, he was available! The whole concept boggled my mind. I _never_ got this lucky, _especially_ on my birthday. It's too bizarre.

I guess I was taking too long to answer, because he looked at me nervously and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to try and crash your birthday party. I'm sure you'd rather just be with your friends. "

I blinked as I absorbed his words, and then jumped to try and fix it before I lost my chance. "No! I'm sorry; I was just trying to think about what time we might be going out! Absolutely, I would love it if you and your friends met us at a club! The more the merrier, right? It'll be fun!" _And if his friends look anything like him, my friends will be thrilled_, I thought.

He smiled at me, then, and I swear I was like a deer caught in the headlights. He had the brightest smile I'd ever seen on anyone. It was dazzling. I struggled to clear my head so I could say something. "Oh, wait, are they your friends or your brothers?"

He chuckled, and even _that_ was sexy. I was beginning to feel like a perv, I couldn't stop thinking inappropriate things about him! He spoke, "Well, they're friends, technically, but we've all known each other since we were in diapers, practically. We're like family, and often refer to ourselves as brothers."

"And the women you mentioned? Are they only the wives and girlfriends? They wouldn't want to join us all?" I said, trying to get information, while being polite.

"Mostly, yeah," he said, "Okay, so Embry is the groom, I told you that, right? And Chrissi is his bride. They're high school sweethearts. Then there's Quil, who makes the third musketeer, as everyone has referred to us since grade school. He's single. And Sam, who's a few years older than us, his wife, Leah, her little brother Seth, who is a couple years younger than us, but a really great kid. Can't forget Paul, also a couple years older and single; he can be kind of an ass, but he's crazy loyal and would jump in front of a bus for any of us. Jared, who is Paul's age, but he's dating Kim, who is Chrissi's best friend. Collin and Brady are the youngest in our pack, and single, too. Collin is my cousin, and Brady is Leah and Seth's cousin. Oh, and Emily is also Leah and Seth's cousin. I think she's dating someone though. She lives on a different reservation than we do, so I don't really know her that well. I imagine if she is dating someone, she probably brought him with, right?" he shrugged his shoulders then, "Whatever. Anyway, that's all of us."

"Wow! That's a big group! Hey, did you say you all lived on a reservation? I didn't know there were any reservations in LA," I questioned.

He re-situated himself in the seat and said, "Well, I don't actually know if there are or aren't reservations in LA. We're all from La Push, Washington. It's a small reservation on the Pacific Coast, practically in Canada."

Oh. _Oh_. He isn't from LA. _Bummer. That's more like my luck_, I thought. But, wait, "Oh, so you're from Washington? Then, why were you flying out of LA?"

"Well, actually everyone flew out of LA, sort of. Most flights from Seattle to Vegas change planes or stop at LAX, so most everyone flew through LAX today. I'm actually working in LA right now, so I was just flying out later than the rest of them, because I was working in a client's office all day today," Jacob answered.

"But you don't live in LA?" I probed.

"No, I don't. I'm just here on business right now. I will likely be flying back and forth between LA and home for a while, since the project is just getting going."

_Interesting_. "And what is it that you do? What's your business project?" I asked. I was enjoying getting to know him. I wanted to know more; I wanted to know everything.

Jacob glanced at me again, "I'm an architect. I designed an office building for a company that was opening a branch in Seattle. The CEO really liked my designs, and we got along really well while the project was going on. When it was done, he contracted me to design a home for him and his wife." He got a twinkle in his eye and made eye contact with me for a moment before he turned back to the road, "Um, Bella, is it my turn to ask questions, yet? Because I'm sort of starting to feel like I'm at an interview."

I blushed a little, but thankfully he wouldn't be able to see it in the dark. I _had_ been asking a lot of questions, but I was so curious about this hunky man who fell into my life. Ok, maybe not my _life_, but certainly into the middle of my birthday weekend. And my girls had made me promise I would step outside my comfort zone this weekend, because what happened in Vegas, stayed in Vegas. I smothered a giggle remembering that conversation. But if I was being honest, I actually _wanted_ to do something a little different, a little wild… something not like me at all. I tend to get stuck in my rut and forget that most people my age are partying every weekend and dating a different guy every week. Not me; I'm a responsible girl. I eat a balanced diet, get a good night's sleep every night, and I definitely don't sleep around. Which translates to boring. And I _felt_ boring. But I wanted to feel sexy and fun and the more I watched Jacob and listened to him talk about his life and his friends, the more I thought I would really like to feel sexy and fun with him, in particular. Aside from the fact that he's walking around like sex-on-a-stick, he's a total sweetheart of a guy and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something sort of fated about our meeting the way we did.

He was waiting for an answer and I was lost in my head again. "Yes, Jacob, of course you can ask me questions," I giggled, "I'm sorry if I was interrogating you. I'm just curious about the stranger driving through the middle of the desert with me. What would you like to know? Fire away," I offered. I twisted in my seat, and pulled my legs under me, so that I was sort of facing him, and waited for him to ask his questions.

He shifted his weight in the seat and grinned, "Let's start with you and your friends. Who are you meeting up with when we arrive?"

"That would be my girl-crew, Angela, Amanda and Jessica. We met in college and I'm not allowed to do anything remotely fun without one or all of them with me. It's a rule," I giggled, "Oh, and Mike will be there, too."

He turned his head sharply at that and asked, "Mike? Who's Mike? Is he your boyfriend? "

I laughed, "No! Mike is not a boyfriend. He's our friend, and our token escort. See, when women go to clubs by themselves, they often find groups of men descending like hungry wolves after a flock of lambs. If you have a man in the group, you get less group attacks, and more of an individual approach. It's less threatening. Plus, we can pretend he's a boyfriend, if a guy won't take no for an answer."

"Huh," Jacob said, "I had no idea women did that kind of thing. I feel like I'm getting some insider info here," he grinned. "So, Mike doesn't have an actual girlfriend, then, I guess."

"Uh, that's a no, Mike definitely does not have an actual girlfriend," I laughed. "What else do you want to ask me?"

"I presume you do live in LA, right? What do you do?" Jacob queried.

"Yes, I do live in LA. I'm an Assistant Zoologist at the LA Zoo." I told him, with a proud smile. I love my job and people always wanted to talk about it with me.

"Wow, that's really cool! So, you work with the animals, huh? Are you like a veterinarian or a trainer or what?" Jake asked, genuinely intrigued.

I grinned, "No, not a trainer. I'm kind of like a Junior Zoo Keeper, so I help maintain the animal's habitat and specialize in the care and maintenance of small carnivorous mammals. I'm just finishing my first year, but I'm actually thinking of going back to get my DVM degree. After working at the Zoo for a while, I think I'd rather be more involved in the actual medical care of the animals. It bothers me when one of the animals I take care of gets ill and then it goes to a different building and I don't get to be involved anymore until it, hopefully, comes back to the habitat."

Jacob seemed impressed. "That sounds amazing! What's a DVM degree? And what would a small carnivorous mammal be? Which ones do you work with?"

"A DVM degree is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. There are lots of small carnivorous animals, but I work with hyenas, foxes and wolves, right now," I told him.

Jacob was guzzling out of a water bottle at that moment and totally choked, water spluttering out of his mouth, as he coughed and tried to catch his breath. I sat up, concerned, and tried patting him on the back while he was leaning over the steering wheel, coughing and trying to keep the car on the road. He finally caught his breath, and I asked him if he was okay. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, and told me he was fine. "Are you alright? What happened?" I asked him.

He gave me another sidelong glance, "Nothing, I'm fine. Sorry, I just tried to breathe and swallow at the same time; it went down the wrong pipe."

"But you're okay, now?" I confirmed.

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks. So, you were saying? Please, continue," he said.

I settled back into my seat again, "Well, that was pretty much it, really. I love what I do, and I love all my little fur-babies," I giggled. That's what Amanda called the animals I worked with, because I would come home gushing about them.

"_Fur-babies?_" Jacob chuckled, "you make them sound like little fuzzy bunnies or something."

"Well, they're not exactly that cuddly, but they really do have their own personalities, especially the foxes and the wolves. The hyenas are a little more…," I paused as I tried to find the right word, "feral. The foxes get used to the people they interact with regularly and the wolves even get attached to some of us, but with the hyenas you can never let your guard down. They're scavengers and they are always kinda twitchy, so to speak. With the wolves, for example, they become used to the routine of us entering and exiting their enclosure and then they get kind of friendly, almost like dogs. It's still a wild animal, and you can't ever forget that, but they do like to play with us and will let us groom or pet them without too much difficulty. The foxes don't like a lot of physical interaction but they will be playful. But the hyenas are different. I always insist on another keeper to be with me when I have to go into their habitats."

Jacob kept looking at me like I was insane. "What?" I asked him.

"These are your fur-babies? Foxes and wolves? You play with wolves? Like, fetch, or something?"

"Well, yeah. I just told you the wolves are like big dogs after they get comfortable with us. There's one who's really great, he's my special buddy! His name is George, and he loves it when I brush his fur. Every time I go into his enclosure, he comes running up to me and runs circles around me. He likes to make sure he has my full attention and gets his pets before he lets me into the habitat," I laughed, thinking about my Georgie-boy.

Jacob had the strangest look on his face when I told him that; almost like he was jealous. That didn't really make sense, though, so I shrugged it off. "What else would you like to know?"

Jacob thought for a moment, "What are your friends like?"

I laughed out loud at that question. How could I describe my crazy girl-crew? "They're really great. Angela is really smart, and beautiful, but really shy and sweet. Jessica is really cute and friendly and can make anyone feel comfortable with no effort. She's our social secretary, always making plans for us all to do something fun together. And then there's Amanda," I laughed again, "Amanda is something else! She's the strongest woman I know. She's completely fearless, she's really protective of us all; she's smart, sassy and sexy. She's the total package. You and your friends will be fighting over who gets to hit on her."

Jacob looked at me. He said, "Bells, you may not realize this, but so far, I think _you're_ the total package. You are smart, confident, beautiful, kind, very sexy, and you have a cool job where you play with wolves. I can't imagine anyone being more interesting to me than you."

I looked out the window, blushing furiously. I didn't know how to respond to him. This whole thing was so surreal, a road trip to Vegas with a stranger who didn't feel like a stranger. I really do have the oddest luck. As I thought about what he said, my head snapped up, "Hey! Did you call me 'Bells'?"

"Um, yeah?" he said, sounding perplexed. "Is that not okay?"

"No, it's fine, it's just, no one else has ever called me that, besides my father." I looked over at him, "What made you think of it?"

Jacob looked at me with a tilted eyebrow, "I don't know. It just… came out. I won't call you Bells again if you don't want me to. Is it a special nickname for your dad only?"

"No," I smiled, "you can call me Bells. It's fine."

We made eye contact and suddenly I was feeling really warm, even though the night air was quite cool. Jacob turned his face to look out the windshield again, and said, "Hey, look, I can see the city lights! We'll be there soon."

"That's great! Are you still fine driving, or did you want me to take a turn?"

Jacob shook his head, "No, I'm fine, and we'll be there before much longer. Are you and your friends staying on the Strip or Downtown?"

"We're on the Strip. We're staying at Caesar's Palace," I told him.

He chuckled, and then it turned into a hearty laugh. I asked him what was so funny. He said, "You're not going to believe this, Bells, but that's where we're staying, too."

My mouth fell open, "Are you serious?"

He nodded his head, "This is crazy. Bells, do you believe in destiny?"

I looked over at him, thinking about all the unusual and unlikely events that had transpired to bring us to this point, and now, on top of all that, we're staying at the same hotel, out of all the hotels on the Strip. It was so bizarre. It really did feel like destiny. I thought about how to answer him. "I believe that certain people, certain things, and certain moments are fated. How we get to those moments, though, is all by chance."

He looked over at me again, with an approving smile. I guess I answered his question correctly. I turned back towards the window, looking out with a smile. This may turn out to be the best birthday I've ever had. _It was already the luckiest_, I thought to myself, _I've met Jacob and we have plans to meet up tomorrow night_.


	2. 2 - Placing a Bet

**Disclaimer**: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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A/N - Hello again! I'm really happy to see so many people enjoying this story. I didn't plan it at all, it is strictly a flash fic that got carried away, prompted with "Hotel California" by the Eagles. I don't think it will be too long, but I've already decided to add in something that I feel is missing, and that will be in the next installment.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it.

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Placing a Bet

While we made our way into Las Vegas and to the Strip, the comfortable flow of conversation slowly turned into comfortable silence. I was lost in my thoughts, and I think Jacob was, too.

I was thinking about my promise to the girls; that I would do something spontaneous, something outside my norm. It occurred to me that Jacob was outside my norm. He was so devastatingly handsome, and his voice was deep, which I thought was really sexy. He was built like a Greek God and his skin was the richest tawny-bronze. He looked like he'd been dipped in caramel.

That was a bad thought, because then I started thinking of him having caramel drizzled over his body and it made me want to lick him all over. I closed my eyes, trying to will away that image, but it just got stronger. I coughed a little to cover my heavy breathing and shook my head. All that happened was I envisioned his face in my mind's eye, instead of his body. While I thought about his face, and in particular, his perfectly-shaped lips, I glanced over and noticed Jacob was looking at me, and breathing deeply, as if he was trying to smell something. He quickly turned his head away. I got nervous, and stretched my right arm up and behind the seat and turned my head towards the window to surreptitiously sniff myself and make sure I wasn't grossing him out with my BO.

_Hmm._ I couldn't smell anything except the baby powder scent of my deodorant. Plus, the wind was still whipping through the car pretty good; I can't imagine that he would be able to smell me even if I did stink. I glanced over at Jacob again. He wasn't sniffing anymore. Maybe I imagined it. Or maybe he just smelled something that the wind blew into the car. As I gazed at his masculine profile, my thoughts floated back into the proverbial gutter. Actually, they were floating around the idea of Jacob pulling the car over and pinning me on the hood, pressing his lean, hard body into me, while my legs went around his waist, locking my ankles around him and using the windshield to brace my hands against, while I pushed my hips up against his…

Ok, now I definitely see him sniffing again. I sniffed, too, but I couldn't smell anything. I re-situated myself closer to the passenger door and turned away. He kept giving me strange looks. Maybe he was changing his mind about hanging out with me and my friends tomorrow night.

Well, later tonight, really. It was already after 2 in the morning. I was starting to get antsy from being in the car so long, and all my mental images of Jacob in various states of sexual positions and undress were making me antsy, too. Sometimes the wind would blow his heady scent at me. I don't know what kind of cologne he wears, but it's delicious. It's kind of earthy, and a little bit salty, like the ocean, with an undertone of musky, manly tang. Whenever I got a whiff of it, it would start up my thoughts again. "How much further do you think?" I asked him, twisting around in my seat.

"I'm not sure. The lights make it seem as if we're getting closer, but we still seem to be pretty far away. Here, I'll put it in the nav system and we'll get a better idea of how much longer." He looked over at me, "Bells, I'm sorry, do you need a break? I didn't even think to ask if you wanted to stop somewhere."

I smiled at him, "Jacob, it's fine, I'm just feeling a little cramped. If it's more than another half-hour, maybe we could pull over and stretch our legs a bit? But if it's not, then we'll just keep going."

Jacob poked at the screen on the nav system and the electronic female voice came on stating that our destination was 45 minutes away. I was surprised; the lights of the city really did look so much closer than that. Oh well, it was only a bit longer. "It's fine, we can keep going, really. It's not that much further, I'll live."

He slowed and started guiding the car over to the shoulder. "No, Bells, I could use a little walk and stretch, too. We'll be back on the road before too long. A few minutes won't hurt anything."

When the car stopped, we got out and I stretched and walked around to the front of the car. I put my arms straight out in front of me and twisted at the waist as far as I could, then I did it again in the other direction. I spread my legs out wide and then bent forward at the waist, trying to touch my hands to the asphalt. It felt good to let my muscles expand a little bit, and I inhaled deeply and then exhaled as I bent over. As I rose up, I inhaled again and reached for my left foot with my right hand, exhaling as I went down. I stayed down for a few seconds, and then repeated the action in the other direction. When I came up again, I raised both hands straight up above my head, rose up on my tiptoes and wiggled my fingers. I guess I reached too far, because I lost my balance a little bit and stumbled forward. Before I could hit the ground, Jacob was there, and his hands grabbed my waist pulling me back and into him. I gasped, feeling the firmness of his chest behind my head. Instinctively, I leaned backwards, pressing myself more against him. I felt his hands tighten their grip on my waist and pull me tight against his body. There was not an inch of space between us then, and I was pretty sure I felt something else pressing against my ass. He leaned his head down to my shoulder and whispered in my ear, asking if I was alright. As his hot breath caressed my ear, I shivered. I nodded, to indicate I was fine, but all I wanted to do in that moment was turn around and press my lips against his. He wasn't pulling away from me, and I felt my breathing getting heavier. My thoughts were whirling around in my mind, as I tried to figure out what I should do. I _wanted_ to do something, but I was woefully inexperienced in seduction, so I just stood there. Slowly, he released my hips and I felt a flash of panic – my moment was ending and I had frozen! _Now, he's going to think I'm not interested! There goes my chance with him! Shit! _

As his hands fell away from my body, I made a decision. I took a single step away from him, turned and threw myself back into his chest. He reacted by putting his arms around me and when he looked down at me in surprise, I grabbed his head with my hands, went up on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his.

Immediately, I was overcome with the most amazing feelings. I felt like electricity was buzzing through me, and where my mouth touched his, there was heat. I don't mean the heat of desire, although that was there, too. I mean, heat, like he had a fever. I would have worried about getting sick, but when his lips started to massage mine, I ceased having rational thoughts altogether. I couldn't think at all, I could only feel – his mouth moving against my mouth, his arms holding me close, my hands running through his hair. His lips opened slightly and I slid my tongue into his mouth. Suddenly, I felt his tongue against mine and the buzzing moved into my brain. The kiss kept going and I lost myself in it. Eventually, his lips broke away from mine and I gulped in air, but I was anxious to get them back; I wanted more of that kiss...

…until I felt them on my jaw – hot, moist and working their way slowly down my neck. I finally understood the term 'swoon' because I was swooning at the way his mouth felt as it moved across my skin, feeling his teeth graze my earlobe. I was breathing heavily, and arching my neck into his mouth, moaning softly. I pushed my body against his and felt a rumbling in his chest, low and deep, as my hardened nipples pressed against his firm pectorals. I want more of this feeling, this desire for him that was heating my body and my blood.

His hands were running up and down my back, sometimes grasping and pushing me into him, like he wanted to push me inside of him, as if he could absorb me into his chest. I felt them tighten around me and he pulled me up, my legs instinctually going around his waist. My arms were around his neck, one hand clawing at his back, one hand grabbing a handful of hair and pulling his head back so I could see his face. When he looked at me, I attacked his lips again, my tongue invading his mouth. He grunted softly and his tongue was immediately in my mouth, sliding against mine, taking control of the kiss. He had one hand gripping my ass, holding me up and against him and the other entwined in my hair, guiding my head while he kissed me, deeply. I could feel him walking, moving us, and I had a flickering thought that we might end up on the hood, after all.

All I could hear was ragged breathing, some low grunts and my own random moans. I felt myself grinding against him, when he pulled away from our kiss to start mouthing my throat, and nipping at my clavicle. I was overcome with wanting him. I could feel my wetness making my panties damp. Jacob was touching me as if he knew exactly what I liked and what would turn me on and he wasn't holding back. Neither was I.

Suddenly, there was a loud horn honking as a car went by us. It got louder and then softer as the driver didn't slow down, but continued into the night, getting further away from us. It was enough to break the hypnotic trance we'd put ourselves in, and Jacob set me down and took a step backwards, away from me. We were both breathing heavily and looking a little disheveled. I straightened my shirt and ran my hands up and over my face, trying to come down from the endorphin high and catch my breath. When I looked up, Jacob was leaning over the car with his head down. I couldn't see his face, so I couldn't read his expression, but seeing him like that made me nervous.

I had felt his burgeoning erection, I knew he was physically aroused, but he didn't seem pleased by it. In fact, it seemed like he might be mad. Suddenly, I felt ridiculous. I shouldn't have thrown myself at him like that. He had said some nice things to me in the car, but maybe he was just saying nice things. That didn't mean that he wanted my tongue down his throat. _Shit_, I thought, _I need to un-fuck this_. We still have nearly an hour of drive time and I didn't want to ride the rest of the way feeling like this. He still hadn't looked at me.

"Um, Jacob? Are you upset with me? I mean, um, are you upset that I kissed you? I'm sorry; I probably shouldn't have done that..." I trailed off, staring at my feet and feeling overwhelmingly awkward. I started to walk around the car, towards the passenger side, when I felt his hand grab mine and spin me towards him. I looked at his hand on my wrist and then up at him.

"Bells," he said, softly, "that was probably the best first kiss of my entire life. Please, don't apologize for that. I am not upset with you at all. I was just trying to calm down a little bit. I don't know how you felt about it, but for me, it was a really intense kiss and I thoroughly enjoyed it, which I think was abundantly clear." He winked at me.

I grinned and blushed, "Um, yeah, I have to agree with that. It was pretty intense for me, too." I looked up at him, feeling a little braver, "It was my best first kiss, too. It was my best kiss ever, actually." I lowered my lashes and stepped away from him, "We should get going and get to the hotel, huh? It's really late, and it's been a really long day."

He stepped towards me and his hands ran down my arms, his fingers intertwining with mine, as he pulled me closer. He kissed my forehead and then put an arm around my waist and walked me over to the passenger door. He opened it for me and I slid into my seat. After shutting the door, he walked around and got into the driver's seat and buckled up. He started the car, and put it into gear. "Bells?" I looked at him, and he took my hand in his. "That kiss was amazing. I think you're amazing and I really hope that wasn't the first and last time I get to kiss you." He pulled my hand up and kissed my knuckles. Feeling his lips touch my skin was like putting a lit match to gasoline. I felt the heat coming on me again, and then just as suddenly, it departed. He had taken his lips away from my hand, and was pulling back onto the road. I inhaled quickly, and exhaled slowly.

He never let go of my hand.

We were quiet the rest of the way. Jacob had turned on the radio and the mellow tunes of the Eagles drifted out of the speakers. It was a perfect match for my contemplative mood.

I was thinking about what I had done and was surprised to find I wasn't embarrassed at all. As soon as Jacob confirmed that he enjoyed it, I couldn't bring myself to regret any of it. Sure, it was completely out of character for me, but that didn't mean that I shouldn't have done it. I'm a grown woman and if I want to kiss someone or have a weekend fling with someone, as long as they were a willing participant, then what did it matter? I felt empowered by this thought.

_Why shouldn't I have a weekend fling? Who was harmed by that?_ I looked at Jacob. He seemed like a willing participant. I suppressed a giggle and I knew right then what I was going to do.

Jacob must have felt me looking at him because he glanced over at me and said, "We're getting close, now." I looked out the window and realized we were on the Strip. _Wow! That went fast! _I thought.

Even at this time of night, the Strip was alive with lights and sounds and people everywhere. I loved Las Vegas. I never wanted to stay too long, but I never wanted to stay _away_ too long, either. Vegas is like a city-wide playground for adults. Whatever you can think of that you want to do, chances are high that you can find it and do it in Vegas.

I had such a feeling of lightness; of freedom. It was slightly intoxicating. Jacob was still holding my hand and I was feeling a low hum of that electrical buzzing going back and forth between us. _I wonder if he can feel it, too._

As we passed the enormous hotels and casinos, I just gawked at them, wide-eyed. Truly, the Las Vegas Strip is a feast for the eyes. The castles that make up Excalibur, the mini version of New York, the Eiffel Tower of Paris, the fountains of Bellagio, and the giant pirate ship in front of Treasure Island… it's just incredible how much they pack into the 4 miles that is the Las Vegas Strip.

"Jacob, is this the first time you've been to Vegas?" I asked him. I noticed he was having trouble keeping his eyes on the road. I understood. There are screens everywhere and it's ridiculously easy to be distracted.

He nodded his head, "I haven't really been anywhere much outside of La Push. Nothing more than a day trip, really."

I was surprised by this, "Why's that?"

"Well, Billy, my dad, he's been in a wheelchair since I was a kid. I have twin sisters that both left home after high school, and so I took care of him. Then, when I graduated, I started going to community college right away to get done with my general studies, and then took online courses for the rest. I worked and studied and there wasn't much time for anything else," He shrugged, as if what he had just said was no big deal. "It's easier to leave, now. I make decent money and I was able to hire a home healthcare worker who can stay with Billy when I'm out of town. And, his health is better now, actually. Neither one of us can cook worth a damn, so I got some nutrition information from his doctor and then signed up with one of those prepared meal services that delivers food to your house and you just heat it up. That's the best thing ever for a couple of bachelors like us," he chuckled.

I was entranced by this man beside me. He stepped up and took care of his father with no help from his older sisters and tied himself to his childhood home without even the slightest taint of bitterness visible. He got his college education and was obviously successful in his career. And he still took care of his father, when most guys his age were barely taking care of themselves. Jacob was quickly becoming the most interesting man I'd ever met.

Jacob turned into the driveway for Caesar's Palace and we looked at each other grinning. "We're here!" I cried. He laughed at me and squeezed my hand.

We pulled into the valet parking line in front of the entrance and Jacob was shaking his head. "I can't believe there's a line at this time of night! This is so strange," he said.

I laughed and said, "It is pretty odd, I'll give you that. Vegas pretty much runs 24/7. You can do almost anything at almost any time of day or night. But it's fun. Sometimes, I'll take a nap after dinner and then go down to the casino in the middle of the night and no one even looks at you funny." We pulled into the valet lane and I pulled my hand from Jacob's so I could grab my purse. The valet ran up to the driver side door, and opened it for Jacob, while another valet opened mine. "Pop the trunk, Jacob." He pushed the button and I heard the trunk unlatch as I got out of the car and walked towards the back. The valet told Jacob to just leave his keys in the ignition and then handed him a ticket. Jacob walked around to the back and whispered to me, asking if he should tip now or when he got the car back. I whispered back to him, "Both." He said, "Damn, I would have loved to have that job when I was a kid."

I said, "Most of the time, they're not even kids. I think they make really good money parking cars. People are very generous when they do well in the casino. A waitress told me she got a $200 tip once, after a guy won a big pot at a poker table." Jacob whistled and pulled a couple of fives out of his wallet. He tipped the valet in the driver's seat, and the bellhop who had pulled our bags from the trunk and was waiting to walk us into the hotel.

The bellhop led us into the enormous building. It was so beautiful and extravagant. I've been to Vegas before, but I never stayed at Caesar's before. I usually went the economical route, but I was splurging for my birthday. Jacob was walking beside me with his hand on the small of my back. It made me feel warm where he touched me. I was so excited to be at the hotel, finally. We got to the check-in counter and the bellhop left our bags with us there.

Jacob and I got checked in and got our keys. He asked for the room numbers of a couple of his friends. My friends think I am flying in tomorrow, so I didn't have to tell them anything tonight, and I was grateful for that. I think if they knew I was here, they'd come running and I really didn't want to see any of them tonight. I heard Jacob thank the front desk clerk for her help. It was a young woman and she kept flirting with Jacob, after she realized we weren't staying in the same room. I don't know why, but it totally pissed me off! I watched him carefully, and he didn't seem to flirt back so I tried to ignore it.

I stepped aside as the clerk still tried to flirt with him, as she showed him a map of the hotel and marked it in places for him. I was trying to psych myself up. I knew what I wanted to do, and I was bound and determined to do it. I just had to get up enough courage. I reminded myself it was my birthday and I was doing something spontaneous and adventurous. Jacob touched my shoulder and the electrical buzz hummed through me immediately. I jerked my head in his direction, and he smiled at me, "Ready?" I smiled back and nodded. He guided me towards the elevators.

Once we were in the elevator, he pushed the button for my floor. "Bells, is it okay if I walk you to your room?" he asked. I looked at him. His eyes were searching mine, looking for something. I took his hand and said, "I'd like that very much, Jacob."

The ride was silent while I continued my internal pep talk. Jacob looked like he was thinking really hard, too. When the doors opened, we looked around and went down the hallway with my room number. I slipped the card into the slot and opened the door, while Jacob stood beside me. I walked in a little ways, pulling my bag into the entry and tossing my backpack and my purse onto the chair and table. I turned to see Jacob standing in the doorway, holding the door open. I walked back over to him.

"So, we're still on for tomorrow night, right, Bells? We'll all meet up at a club and you'll let me know when and where?" Jacob asked, hesitantly. He had the sweetest look on his face, full of hope and a little excitement. I nodded and smiled at him.

He smiled back and asked if he could kiss me goodnight. I nodded again and turned my face up towards his. He cupped my cheek with his hand and leaned down to give me a sweet, tender kiss that teased with heat and desire behind it. I kissed him back fully, and when he pulled away, I smiled up at him again. He whispered, "Tomorrow night."

I put my hands around his neck and pulled him down towards my face. I took a deep breath, moved my mouth to his ear and whispered, "Jacob, I don't want to wait until tomorrow night. I want you to come inside this room with me now, where we will take off all our clothes, and then I want you to kiss me again, like you did earlier. This time, we won't be interrupted. Can we do that, Jacob? Do you want me tonight?"

I took a step back and looked at his handsome face with a question in my eyes. Jacob gulped and then nodded. I smiled, turned and walked into my room. He followed immediately behind me, and closed the door behind us.


	3. 3 - Ante Up

**Disclaimer:** _This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental._

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A/N - Ok, as many of you guessed, what was missing was Jake's POV. And before you yell at me in the comments, this was supposed to go a lot further into the story, but it just felt like too much was going on and there needed to be a break in between. So, next chapter, I promise!

Also, thanks so much for all the positive feedback! You're keeping me excited about this story and that makes it so much easier to write. You guys rock!

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Ante Up

As soon as the flight was marked for cancellation, I was on my cell phone. It only took me a minute to decide to rent a car and drive to Vegas. Embry was gonna flip the fuck out if I wasn't there in the morning with the wedding rings.

I heard the cute brunette cursing at the display board and bit back a chuckle. Now, I had already noticed her and was hoping that I'd be able to buy her a drink and talk to her on the flight, but that plan flew right out the window, while I focused on getting my ass to Vegas. That was my priority.

As I scrolled through the rental car's website, I was stoked to see there were still cars available. I was worried that this late in the evening I might have trouble getting a car, too. I decided to splurge a little and rent a convertible. _That will be fun to drive_, I thought. As soon as the rental was confirmed, I looked up at the ceiling and said to myself, "Yes! Oh, you're one lucky motherfucker, Black!" I was feeling the relief you can only get from putting Plan B into effect. I looked down at my phone to finalize the rental, before I went to the counter for the keys. That's when I read it: '**The rental contract can only be completed with payment by credit card. We do not accept cash, checks or debit cards. All primary drivers on the rental contract must have a valid driver's license and a credit card to validate identity. Secondary drivers must have a valid driver's license, but are not required to have a credit card.**'

_Fuck!_ I had just paid the credit card off last week, and it was sitting in my desk drawer at home. Here I am, sitting with at least two grand in the bank and about half that much cash in my wallet, and I still can't rent the damn car. I felt my frustration growing stronger. "Dammit! This is total bullshit!" I said, too loudly.

I looked up and around and caught the eye of the cute brunette, and she looked like she was about to leave the gate. Immediately, Plan C flashed into my mind and I was up on my feet, walking towards her. Her eyes grew wide, and I didn't really understand why she was reacting like that, until I thought about how I must look to her. I put on my best charming-the-client smile and turned my hands palm up as I walked over to her.

"Hi, my name is Jacob Black. You were supposed to be on the flight to Vegas, right?" She nodded, so I kept going, "I really need to be in Vegas by morning and you looked pretty upset that the flight was cancelled, too. I was able to reserve a car and it's only a few hours drive from here. How would you feel about sharing the ride?"

I forced myself to stand still, breathe evenly and keep the client smile on my face. I was asking a woman, whom I didn't know, to get in a car with me, a man she doesn't know, and drive across the desert for several hours, with the end goal of arriving in a place most often referred to as 'Sin City.' _Yeah, right. She's totally going to say yes,_ I thought sarcastically. _Black, if she does this, you really are the luckiest motherfucker ever, and should take your ass to a roulette table immediately upon arriving at a casino._

She introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Bella," she smiled at me, and I saw her eyes light up. _Beautiful,_ I thought. She asked me how much the rental car would be.

I quickly collected myself, and said, "It's nice to meet you, Bella. And have I got a deal for you! See, you have to have a credit card to rent the car and I don't have one with me. I'll pay for the car, I have the cash, but we'd have to put it on your credit card, if you have one." I looked her directly in the eyes, hoping that would convey my trustworthiness and waited patiently for her to consider the idea. If this didn't work, I was going to be totally fucked.

When she agreed to do it, I couldn't believe it. I smiled at her, honestly, with all the gratitude I felt at that moment. The next thing I know, I'm throwing our bags into the trunk of a cool convertible and we are on the freeway, headed for Las Vegas.

Cruising down the dark, desert highway, we were making pleasant conversation. I was more and more intrigued by this beautiful woman who was either ridiculously brave for getting in a car with a man she didn't know or ridiculously naïve. I wasn't going to question it, though, since she saved my ass by doing it.

I was taking her in, bit by bit, stealing glances when she wasn't looking. She really was attractive; she had that low-maintenance, natural kind of sexy that's so appealing because she doesn't seem to know she's got it. She had long mahogany hair that she'd put up into a ponytail when I had put the top down. She had a heart-shaped face, with big, brown eyes, a small nose, and the sweetest little mouth that had small but plump pink lips and a natural pucker that made it look like she was about to blow a kiss to someone. I was thinking about how much I'd like to be the recipient of that kiss when my dick twitched in agreement. Her scent was incredible and the wolf thought so, too. It was sweet, and fresh, and slightly floral… like fruit, but more intense, with the floral notes underneath that. The wolf was trying to get me to sniff her, but I wouldn't. That would seem odd, and I didn't want to scare her.

I was kind of surprised about how the wolf was reacting to her. I'd been shape-shifting for nearly ten years now and I couldn't ever remember him reacting to anyone the way he was reacting to Bella. He wasn't agitated; more like… eager. I was trying to calm him down, telling him he was going to freak her out. That got him to relax, because he didn't want her to be afraid of us.

I had told her that I was going to my best friend's wedding and she told me she was meeting her friends to celebrate her birthday. For some reason, hearing it was her birthday moved something within me and before I knew it, I'd invited myself and my brothers along for the ride. She hesitated. I started to think that she didn't want to get together, and it bothered me. _Why would that bother me? We don't even know each other. For that matter, why am I even getting revved up about her birthday? Snap out of it, Black!_

I tried to backtrack and apologize; I told her it was fine if she just wanted to be with her friends. She quickly told me that she _did_ want to meet up and she thought it would be fun. I felt tremendous relief to know I was going to see her again the next night. I couldn't stop the smile on my face when I thought about being with her on her birthday at a nightclub. _I could dance with her; hold her body close to mine. Maybe I will buy her a bottle of pink champagne and then when I kiss her, I'll be able to taste it on her lips._

_Dammit._ I tried to clear my thoughts while she questioned me about my brothers and their women. I explained who everyone was, and how we all knew each other or were related. And then she figured out that I wasn't from LA. _Shit,_ I thought, _I hope that doesn't blow my chance with her! _

_What the hell? What is going on with me?_ I looked at her again before I answered her questions. Ok, I know she's hot, but I don't even know this woman! I couldn't explain my anxiety about her and this strange compulsion to keep her close to me. I decided to get more information about her, so I started asking her questions.

Her friends all sounded nice, and then she brought up some guy, Mike, who was with her and all her girlfriends. The wolf growled inside and I told him to chill. Quickly, trying to appease the wolf, I asked about Mike and if he was her boyfriend. She explained that Mike was a friend who sometimes pretended to be her boyfriend. The wolf became agitated at that, because it meant that this Mike guy might touch her and he was not cool with that, at all. I wasn't overly thrilled with the idea of another man touching her either, but damned if I could figure out why. I told the wolf it wasn't really our business who touched her, she didn't belong to us. That's when that little fucker growled at me! I would have growled right back but, again, that would seem odd, and I didn't want her to get the creeps. We were still a couple hours from Vegas.

I thought maybe Mike might like her and she just wasn't aware of it. After all, what male in her vicinity wouldn't like her? She's so pretty, and really sweet, too. She had the cutest little giggle and used it frequently. The wolf liked the sound of that very much. I liked the way it made her nose crinkle.

I started asking questions about her job, which sounded really cool. She worked at the LA Zoo! She was a smart, interesting woman and I wanted to know more; I wanted to know everything.

When she told me she was working with wolves, I nearly choked on my water. The wolf started preening, as if that meant something. She patted my back, but I barely felt it. I glanced at her sideways, while I was collecting myself. I assured her I was fine, that I had just swallowed wrong, and she started talking again. She referred to the wild animals she worked with as 'fur-babies' which I thought was silly, but the wolf seemed to approve, and he chuffed at me.

I was getting a little fed up with his shit. He was acting awfully cocky for a spirit wolf.

When Bella told me that she spent her day _playing_ with foxes and wolves, I couldn't believe it. This was either a mind-boggling coincidence or something else was going on. How many women are there in the world that would be comfortable caring for, grooming and interacting with wild wolves? And then of those, how many would, completely by chance, be on the same cancelled flight and subsequently rent a car to drive 4 hours across the desert with a man she didn't know? And how many of those men would have the ability to shift from being a man into a giant wolf that was a spirit warrior who destroys vampires?

I couldn't be sure, but I was thinking that statistic was going to be a really infinitesimally small number. _Dammit. Maybe the wolf is onto something here. _The wolf chuffed at me again. I could practically hear him saying, 'You think? Dumbass.'

The wolf is kind of a jackass, sometimes.

She was talking about a wolf named George, who loved it when she brushed his fur. She said George walked circles around her before she went into the habitat. She might not realize it, but that was George's way of showing his dominance to her. Then, if she's brushing him afterwards, that's definitely a sign of submissive behavior. I would bet good money that George thought Bella was his. My wolf _really_ did not like that. In fact, he started pacing again, and huffing in frustration. I couldn't get pissed at him for that; it kind of bothered me, too. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more irritated I got that some other male was claiming dominance over Bella. Even if it was just a regular wolf, and not a human, that did not make it okay.

I looked at her right then, and her eyebrows furrowed. Whatever she saw in my face at that moment, she didn't seem bothered by it.

When she asked me what else I wanted to know, I thought I'd better stay away from her job for the time being. My wolf and I both needed to calm the fuck down. We'd only known this girl for a few hours. So, I asked her to tell me about her friends.

As she described them, I couldn't help but match them up with my brothers. She described Angela and I immediately thought of Quil. He'd be able to pull her out of her shell easily, with his harmless, goofball personality. Jessica sounded like the female version of Seth. When she described Amanda, I knew Paul would be all over that. She sounded like a real firecracker, his ideal woman, and strong enough to handle Paul's bullshit. Then, I heard the most absurd thing come out of her mouth. Bella said, "She's the total package. You and your friends will be fighting over who gets to hit on her."

I turned and looked directly at her, "Bells, you may not realize this, but so far, I think _you're_ the total package. You are smart, confident, beautiful, kind, very sexy, and you have a cool job where you play with wolves. I can't imagine anyone being more interesting to me than you."

I had made her blush. When her face flushed pink, I think I stopped breathing for a second. It was incredible; it made her look even more beautiful. I immediately resolved to do that as much as possible. She had turned away from me, but I could see the blossom of color on the side of her neck, and I wondered if it would make her skin taste differently.

Without warning, she snapped her head up and looked at me with a weird expression. "Hey!" she said, "Did you just call me _Bells_?"

I was kind of confused. I had called her Bells, but I wasn't really clear why she seemed upset about that. "Um, yeah?" I said, "Is that not okay?"

"No, it's fine, it's just, no one else has ever called me that, besides my father," she said, while looking at me, "What made you think of it?"

I didn't actually know where it came from. I hadn't really thought it out, "I don't know. It just… came out. I won't call you Bells again if you don't want me to. Is it a special nickname for your dad only?"

"No," she smiled, "you can call me Bells. It's fine."

There was something in her voice then that the wolf responded to, strongly. I looked her in the eyes, and I felt a sudden surge of heat throughout my body. I had to drag my eyes away from her and look at the road. I don't even know what was going on with the wolf, it was like he wanted out, he wanted to take control and I couldn't figure out why. I told him he had to back the fuck off, because I was driving and this was a really bad time to change forms, but also because we were not in the right environment for him to make an appearance.

In an effort to distract both of us, I looked around. I could see a really bright area on the horizon and realized that was Las Vegas. I blurted out, "Hey, look, I can see the city lights! We'll be there soon."

Bella offered to drive the rest of the way, but I declined. I needed to stay focused on something and the road was the easiest thing. I asked her what hotel she was staying at, and when she told me, I couldn't help but laugh.

Of course. Of course she was staying at the same hotel the Pack was at. I didn't even feel that surprised about it. When I told her that we were at Caesar's, too, her mouth fell open. _She has the cutest little pink tongue_, I thought, wishing I could taste her mouth.

I could no longer pretend there wasn't something cosmic going on here. These might seem like a string of unlikely coincidences to some people, but some people didn't have a clue about how much was going on in the world, just beyond their radar. I was not one of those people. And if that wasn't enough to convince me, the fact that the wolf was prancing with this new information surely would have done. My wolf had _never_ pranced before.

I didn't know exactly what was happening, but I knew that this was only the beginning. I started to worry a little bit about how Bella was going to handle this. If she wanted to, she could walk out of my life without a backward glance. After all, we're practically strangers. _Son of a bitch,_ I thought, _I don't even know her last name! _

I asked Bella if she believed in destiny. She was quiet for a minute and then she gave me the best possible answer to my question. She said, "I believe that certain people, certain things, and certain moments are fated. How we get to those moments, though, is all by chance."

I couldn't believe how perfect that answer was; I almost felt proud of her for being so open to the spiritual plane that exists all around us. Most humans ignore anything they can't put their hands on. I smiled at her, and she smiled back, before looking out the window again.

We fell into a comfortable silence after that. I was glad, because my thoughts were chaotic. I was trying to sort this out and determine what all this might mean. I knew I was attracted to her, incredibly so. That was not too much of a surprise; I had noticed her in the airport already and had planned to talk to her. There was no way in hell we would have gotten to this level on the plane, though. It's barely an hour from LAX to Vegas by plane. At most, we would have had a chat, a drink, possibly exchanged numbers. There wouldn't have been time for more than that.

Before I could think beyond that, the wolf started acting restless. I was about to tell him, again, to calm down, when I became aware that I was scenting something. He was scenting it, too, and that's why he was worked up. It was Bella, only _more_. Without realizing it, I started breathing deeply, trying to take in more of that delicious fragrance. It was intoxicating and I couldn't get enough of it; the wind was blowing through the car and taking it away from me. I was pretty sure I knew what that scent was, and it was affecting me in a big way. The wolf was really reacting to it; he was pacing and getting anxious. I looked over at Bella, trying to figure out what was arousing her. Her eyes were closed and she had her face towards the windshield. _What the hell is she thinking about?_ I wondered, still breathing deeply of her heady aroma.

Just then, she turned and opened her eyes. I quickly looked back to the road. I was still trying to get the wolf to calm the fuck down, when suddenly I got another whiff of Bella's bouquet, and it had increased in strength. My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to stay in control. The wolf caught the increase in pheromones in the car and he started howling, low and slow. He was warning me. I got tense, as I thought about how to release some steam from this pressure cooker situation. The wolf and I were both chomping at the bit to touch Bella – well, I wanted to touch her, the wolf wanted to stick his face under her hair and surround himself with her scent. Actually, that didn't sound too bad to me either, but I wanted to touch her while I did it.

Bella's fragrance was all around me now and my breathing was becoming more obvious. The wolf was really excited about the perfume of her arousal and his howling was getting more impatient.

Her voice cracked the silence, when she asked me how much further I thought it was. It occurred to me that we hadn't stopped at all since we'd left the airport. Maybe this would be a good time for a break.

I pulled the car over to the side of the road, hushing her concerns about stopping. She didn't realize how much I needed to walk away from her for a few minutes and clear my head.

We both got out of the car and walked to the front of it. I kept walking a little ways, just trying to get some fresh air that wasn't laden with Eau de Bella. The wolf was getting pissed, now. He wanted to be near Bella, and didn't like that I was walking away from her. I tried to tell him that I was just clearing my head and we'd go right back to her, when I turned around and saw her.

My wolf and I both froze in that moment, staring at Bella. She was bent over at the waist, with her hands on the ground. Then, she straightened up, took in a deep breath and bent at the waist again, touching her foot.

The wolf came undone and my cock swiftly became uncomfortable in the current position. He howled and I thought my head might explode. I roared back at him in my mind, and without even being aware, I was taking long strides in Bella's direction.

She was standing up straight now, reaching both of her hands toward the sky and going up on her toes. I saw her balance tip and she started to fall forward, so I reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her back towards me. She leaned backwards into me and I bit back a groan. I could feel her ass pressing against my growing erection, which caused my hands to tighten around her petite waist and pull her closer to me. I leaned down to whisper in her ear and ask her if she was alright and she nodded. I also wanted a chance to inhale her unique scent.

That was a mistake, because her arousal spiked at that moment and I barely held the wolf back from taking control of my body. I slowly, and with great difficulty, pushed Bella away from me, releasing her from my grip.

She took a step away from me, and before I knew it she had turned and crashed into my chest. My arms went around her instantly and I looked down at her, surprised. In a flash, she grabbed my head and pulled my face towards hers and then I felt her lips touch mine.

Books and movies talk about lovers feeling fireworks when they kiss, but I always thought that was a flowery phrase. And for all I know, it may be.

Because fireworks doesn't even cover what happened when Bella pressed her lips to mine. There was an electrical explosion between us. I could feel it, vibrant and alive, racing between us and through us. Everywhere our skin touched there was heat and the thrum of something I couldn't identify.

I had no conscious thought; I reacted from pure animal instinct. Her lips were on mine, so I was kissing her. My arms were around her, so I pulled her closer. I could feel her hands in my hair, gripping it, holding me so she could keep our mouths together. I felt her tongue slide into my mouth and then something snapped.

The wolf was ravenous for her. He was so close to the surface, we were basically sharing the same form. He had started chanting, "Mate. Mine. _Take. Fuck. Mate. Mine. MINE."_

I didn't argue with him because I was feeling pretty much the same way myself.

I took control of the kiss, stroking her tongue with mine, claiming her mouth with my tongue until neither of us could breathe. The thrumming energy was coursing through me and into her and then back into me again, running a circuit through our veins. It was pushing me, the wolf was pushing me and I was helpless against all of it. I broke the kiss and then put my mouth on her chin, nipping it, and moving my lips and tongue over the soft skin under her jaw, down her throat and then back to her neck and up against her ear. I was overwhelmed with the smell and flavor of her and all I knew was her body pressing harder against mine. Her breathing was ragged, and I think mine was, too. Her nipples protruded against my chest, as I pulled her into me as close as she could be. There was not room for even a dust mote to pass between us, when I ran my hands down her back and lifted her up against me. Bella's legs locked around my waist, her arms were around me, one hand clawing my back, trying to get closer and the other grasping my hair, using it to pull my head back. She looked at me with lust in her eyes and I'm sure she saw the desire in mine. Then her lips were on mine and I grunted as I began to devour her mouth again. All the while, the wolf was chanting in the back of my mind, goading me on.

I had a hand under Bella's ass, holding her to me and another around the back of her neck, my fingers twining into her hair, keeping her mouth in line with mine as my tongue dove further into the softness of hers.

I was grunting and growling, unable to contain the sounds she was inciting in me by grinding her heated core against my swelling erection. I tore my lips away from hers and kissed my way down her throat, nipping at her collarbone and working my way to the curve of her neck and shoulder. I was enveloped in the perfume of her arousal, the chorus of her moans, and the feel of her in my arms, against my body.

A car drove by us, laying on the horn as it sped by, tearing us out of the moment, and bringing me back to reality. I carefully set Bella down, and took a step backwards. I leaned over the car and focused on my breathing.

The wolf was outraged that we were interrupted; he wanted me to pull Bella back into my arms and continue where we had left off. I ignored him, while I tried to bring my heart rate down. I was completely overwhelmed with what had just happened.

I had been thoroughly entranced in Bella a moment ago. The wolf and I were completely in sync while we were touching her, but now that I had my wits about me again, I wanted to slow down for just a minute.

The intensity of that kiss was unexpected. I already knew that there was something more going on between Bella and me, but if I needed further proof, this would have been it. Passionate doesn't even begin to describe what happened when Bella kissed me. It was as though my heart started beating to an entirely new rhythm. I felt almost as if that thrumming that had been running between us had brought me to life, and everything that happened before was dim and faded in comparison to what would happen next.

Bella was talking to me. She was asking if I was upset that she had kissed me. _What? How could she think that?_ She tried to walk past me and I grabbed her hand, turning her towards me.

"Bells," I said, softly, "that was probably the best first kiss of my entire life. Please, don't apologize for that. I am not upset with you at all. I was just trying to calm down a little bit. I don't know how you felt about it, but for me, it was a really intense kiss and I thoroughly enjoyed it, which I think was abundantly clear." I winked at her, trying to lighten the mood.

I guess it worked because she was blushing again and I very nearly pulled her to me so I could see if her flavor changed when her skin was heated like that. She agreed with me about the kiss and even said it was the best kiss she'd ever had. I could easily say the same, but I was still pulling myself together. She tried to go to the car, but I stepped in front of her, running my hands down her arms and laced my fingers with hers. I kissed her forehead and then walked her to the passenger door. When I was in the car, and ready to continue our journey, I took her hand in mine and said, "Bells? That kiss was amazing. I think _you're_ amazing and I really hope that wasn't the first and last time I get to kiss you." I kissed her knuckles, and then pulled the car back onto the highway.

But I didn't let go of her hand, and the wolf was pleased. I could feel the thrumming running between us again, but it was soft and low.

We rode the rest of the way in relative silence. I turned on the radio, and let the soft music fill the car.

As we drove onto the Strip, I was bombarded with lights and screens with flashing images. It made it hard to focus on driving. She asked me if this was my first time in Vegas and I nodded. I explained about my father and his disability; how I had not really been able to leave home before. I told her about my sisters and how I'd managed to get a college education without having to leave home.

When we got to Caesar's Palace, we had to wait in line for the valet. We got our things and Bella confirmed that I should tip the guys who helped us. We walked together to the front desk and we both got checked in. I got the room numbers for a few of my brothers and the girl at the counter gave me a map, with some notes on it. Bella seemed annoyed and so I wanted to get going, before she tried to leave without me.

I wanted to stay with her as long as possible. I was getting tense at the idea of her being away from me and out of sight. We got to her room and she went inside, while I stayed in the doorway, holding the door open. I confirmed our plans for meeting up at a club and she nodded in affirmation.

She had the sweetest look on her face and I asked if I could kiss her. She nodded again, looking up at me. I cupped her cheek with my hand and lightly kissed her sweet, tender lips, which she returned in full. I whispered to her, "Tomorrow night," while trying to get another big inhale of her enchanting scent.

She pulled my head down, took a big breath, and whispered, "Jacob, I don't want to wait until tomorrow night. I want you to come inside this room with me now, where we will take off all our clothes and then I want you to kiss me again, like you did earlier. This time, we won't be interrupted. Can we do that, Jacob? Do you want me tonight?"

She took a step back and looked at me with wide open eyes. I knew I should probably go to my room, and let all this chaos settle in my mind, but when I thought about the kiss on the side of the road, the wolf started rumbling again. I couldn't help but agree with him. I gulped and then nodded. She smiled, turned and walked into her room. I followed immediately behind her, closing the door behind us.


	4. 4 - Double Down

**Disclaimer:**_ All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

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REMINDER - THIS IS MA! YOU MUST BE 18 OR OVER TO CONTINUE READING!

A/N - Ok, here it is, the much anticipated account of what happened after they closed the door of the hotel room.

I have this great little song list for you that should pair nicely with the action in this chapter, however I do not have the mad skillz required to figure out how to create a playlist that magically brings up music when you click it. That being said, these songs should be easily accessible via you-tube or Spotify, if you're into that (I am, it rocks.).

1\. Kisses Down Low by Kelly Rowland

2\. Ride by SoMo

3\. Me &amp; U by Cassie

Thank you again for all the support you guys are giving my little overblown flash fic! It's tremendous and greatly appreciated!

So, as Marvin Gaye said, Let's get it on... 

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Double Down 

The door clicked shut and the silence of the room was deafening. I could hear Bella's heartbeat accelerating as she grabbed her backpack and turned towards me, "I'm just going to freshen up for a minute. Why don't you find a music channel on the TV and I'll be right out." She stepped into the bathroom and clicked the lock.

I found the remote and the channel guide and quickly had some music playing. I chose a jazz station. I'm not that into jazz, but it's generally easy to listen to and I didn't want to deal with any pop shit that had stupid lyrics and might alter the mood. Plus, jazz can be very sexy.

I was thinking about that epic first kiss on the side of the road and the mental replay had both me and the wolf practically vibrating with anticipation. I knew I wanted to be with Bella, but I was a little worried about what it might mean for our connection. Was that what this was? Maybe I'd given it too much spiritual importance and this was just lust, pure and simple. The wolf gave me a low growl at that thought and threw out a single word – _MATE_. I tried to connect with him and see what he thought was going on, but he wasn't communicating right now. He was caught up in the same chant that he had been repeating during the kiss, but was doing it slowly and quietly now.

I could hear the water running in the bathroom, and I sat down on the king-size bed. I slipped off my shoes, and debated taking off my shirt. Deciding to wait, I leaned back on the bed and waited for Bella to come out of the bathroom. I thought about Bella's captivating beauty, her lush brown hair, and those big brown eyes, her curves that are just right for her body; the way she responded to me when we kissed. _She's so fucking sexy_, I thought. I was getting caught up in my thoughts and I could feel my desire for this woman moving south within my body.

Just then, the bathroom door opened and Bella came out and I felt my dick twitch. She was wearing a matching aqua tank top and boy shorts. _Fuck, that's so hot_. She walked over to stand in front of the bed, hips swaying as she moved and I rose to walk towards her. She looked up at me and I could see the hunger in her eyes, but I could also see that she was nervous. That kind of surprised me, because she had seemed very confident when she invited me into her room.

My father raised me to treat women with respect, so I put my hands on her shoulders, kissed her forehead and asked, "Bells, are you sure? We don't have to do this if you aren't comfortable."

She slid her arms around my waist and I felt that thrumming energy again. _What IS that?_ It felt kind of like when you lick the end of a 9-volt battery, but instead of a quick shock on the tongue, it was a soft jolt that came to life every time we touched. It started to run a course between us and through us. I wondered again if she could feel it, too. She looked at me and said, "Jacob, I won't lie to you and tell you that this is no big deal. I don't do things like this normally, and I know how cliché that sounds, but it's the truth. I'm not a virgin, but I haven't had a lot of lovers, either. I've never been tremendously casual about sex, but that doesn't mean that I think all sex is about love. I'm on the pill and have been for years, and due to the small number of lovers I've had, I also don't have any communicable diseases." She grinned then, and I had to return it.

"I don't have STD's either, Bells. I never have. I have always used protection, but I wasn't expecting this, either. I don't have anything with me."

"This is probably really naïve of me, but based on everything else that's happened since I've met you, I believe you; I trust you. I know that there is something _extra_ going on between us and I really don't want to think too hard about all that, right now. I just want to feel. Let's just follow our instincts and see where they take us. Kiss me, Jacob. Kiss me, and let me feel you again."

I watched her while she spoke and my eyes were drawn to the way her lips moved when she was talking. I also liked that she wasn't used to doing this kind of thing. I don't mean that in a sexist, virgin/whore kind of way. I mean, I liked that this was special, that she felt the unique connection we were sharing and was allowing her intuition to guide her actions. That was sexy in a whole other way. I loved the way she accepted these things. It told me that she was in tune with nature and the spiritual plane, in a way she probably wasn't even aware of. My wolf started preening again when Bella said she trusted me.

When she asked me to kiss her, I just let the rest of it fall away. I wanted her, I couldn't deny that, and she wanted me, too. I slid my left hand around her neck. She's so small and my hands are so big, my thumb was on the exposed skin of her neck caressing the base of her throat and my fingers were curled around the back. She was already looking up at me. I leaned down and gently touched my lips to hers. We kissed slowly, chastely, for a moment, until our mouths opened to deepen the kiss, and began moving together. Tongues came out and stroked together, while lips undulated back and forth and that thrumming energy increased in pace and potency. The kiss kept going; breaths were stolen quickly as our lips could not stray for more than a moment. The heat came up as quickly, as did our heart rates, and I weaved my hand into her hair and grasped the back of her head, angling her mouth up and towards me.

I felt her fingers working the buttons on my shirt and I let her. It forced me to step back from her slightly, but I compensated by lowering my mouth to her jaw and using the point of my tongue to trace the line to her ear. She gasped when I nipped her earlobe and I couldn't wait for her to finish unbuttoning my shirt. I released her and opened my shirt, hearing the last two buttons pop off and fly into room, plinking as they hit the furniture. I tossed it away and put my hands on her waist, pulling her close to me. She ran her hands slowly up my chest to my shoulders. Her hands were cool, but her touch set a line of flames loose in the trail they left behind.

I could smell her fragrance again, and it was like getting high; it clouded my brain and forced everything out, everything except Bella. Everything inside me was focused on her – the way her taut nipples were poking through her tank top, the overwhelming scent of her arousal, how her skin felt under my hands, the way her breathing caused her breasts to rise and fall, the feel of her lips on my chest – it was flooding my senses. My mind was spinning again. I could feel the wolf getting closer to the surface and his chanting was so rhythmic, it practically created a beat that was pulsing through me like a tribal drum.

I pulled her up against me, lifting her into my arms like I had done before. Again, like before, her legs wrapped immediately around my waist and her arms went around my neck. She was pushing herself up by leveraging her hips against my body. Our mouths fused together as if they were magnetized. We were kissing and it was getting more intense; we were feasting on each other. I could feel her fingers wrapping into my hair and grasping a handful. She grazed my ears when she did that and I involuntarily propelled myself against her and growled softly. At that moment, the aroma of her arousal, already intoxicating my senses, spiked dramatically, and doubled the strength of the scent. My wolf and I reacted instantly, pushing her into the wall behind her and grinding my bulging member against her mound. She was moaning and whimpering into my mouth and I was grunting every time I pressed into her. Her hands were gripping my shoulders, her nails biting into my flesh. I was holding one arm under her ass and I used the other to palm the fullness of her breast.

She broke the kiss with a breathless gasp and pushed at my shoulders. I pulled back from her, looking at her eyes. They were full of desire. She pulled her tank top off and threw it down. I looked at her pert, naked breasts, the dusty rose color of her nipples and I reached for one, caressing the side of it, while my thumb began rubbing across her erect nipple. Bells hissed, "Jacob!" and her nails clawed into my shoulders again. My mouth descended on it, my tongue encircling the peak, while I suckled, creating a moan from her that I felt in my cock, and then another spike in the scent of her passion.

I took a step back, bringing Bella with me, but never taking my mouth from her breast. I turned us and pushed her back into the bed, covering her frame with mine. I released her then, and pushed back off the bed, standing and unbuttoning my jeans. She lifted up onto her elbows and watched, licking her lips. I slid my jeans down, hooking the boxer briefs with my thumbs and taking them off at the same time. Her eyes widened when she saw my cock standing proud at attention. I wrapped my fingers around it and stroked it a couple times as I watched her study me with lustrous fascination. She kept licking her lips and her legs spread a little wider, her fingers finding their way into her panties. I stepped forward and reached for them, grabbing the leg hem and pulling them down slowly to reveal her fingers rolling against the pearl at the apex of her pussy. She lifted her hips to assist me and I brought the soft cotton to my face, inhaling deeply, thickening the fog in my mind and refreshing my high. My wolf purred and I took another hit. I heard her voice, shakily whispering, "Oh, fuck." I dropped the panties to the floor, and pressed my fingers onto her ankles and slid them up her calves, slowly. I used pressure and she let out another breathy moan. My fingers continued their trek north, and when I got to her thighs, I moved them to the inside and spread her legs further, using just enough force that she would feel my fingertips firmly pressing into her skin, and the moans got louder. I put my face close to her center and closed my eyes, inhaling. She was shaven and the scent of her was driving the wolf mad. It was so strong here, and it sent another dose of fog to cloud my mind. I looked up at her with a question in my eyes. She read it, and nodded, lying back onto the bed.

I took a deep breath and leaned forward, running the tip of my nose against her folds from top to bottom. Then, my tongue was out and moving up the slit, gathering her dewy essence as it went. When I twisted my tongue around her clit, she started swearing and that turned me on even more. I suckled on it and she called my name. My wolf and I both liked that very much. I ran my tongue down the slit again, and when the tip of my tongue touched the fount of her juices, I latched on and sucked them out of her. She came apart then, and flooded my mouth with her release. I was surprised it had happened so quickly, but I wasted no time swallowing the delicious nectar of her pleasure. She had been alternating between cursing and calling my name while she was cumming, but now she was trying to catch her breath. I licked her clean, causing a few whimpers. My dick was so hard, it was throbbing.

I started kissing her body, taking her skin into my mouth and sucking on it before moving to another spot. I worked my way up and over her hips, her belly, to her ribcage and then between the valley of her breasts to her neck. I supported my weight on my hands and knees, as I hovered over her only touching her with my lips. Her heart sped up again, as did her breathing. When I got to her neck, she moaned again. My wolf loved that, because she was arching her neck into my mouth and in an unconscious display of submission. I scraped my teeth against her flesh, as I became more aggressive in my oral appreciation of her skin. She was so fair, and her skin was so soft, I loved seeing it redden from the pressure after I removed my mouth. I kissed her lips again, and she responded instantly, pushing her lips against mine, thrusting her tongue between my lips. I ravaged her mouth. My wolf was demanding to mate with her and I wanted that so much. But I knew I needed to prepare her body for that. I'm a wolf and I'm an alpha, so saying I'm well-endowed is putting it simply.

I moved off of her body and lay down next to her. Before she could wonder where I went, I lifted her and laid her over me. Her legs spread to rest her knees on either side of my hips, and I could feel her slick lips touching me, sliding along the underside of my raging hard-on. She put her lips on my chest, kissing and licking me, moving randomly over my abs until she found my nipple. When her teeth nipped at it lightly, I bucked against her in response. That spurred her on, and she began sucking it, grazing her teeth over it and using her fingers to rub and twist the other. I was so turned on; I couldn't stop growling low in my chest. I reached down between us and brushed my fingertips over her moist folds and it opened to me. I slid two fingers in and she moaned so loud, I had to restrain myself from flipping her over and taking her. I groaned with the effort and used my fingers more forcefully, pushing them deeper into her and twisting my hand as I pumped them in and out of her. She was grinding herself on my hand and I could hear her heart rate speeding up again. I added another finger, but slowed down the thrusting. I didn't want her to peak again, just yet. She had been kissing my chest, but when I started fingering her, she had stopped, losing concentration on me as she focused on what she was feeling. When I slowed it down, she started kissing me again.

I could feel her lips on my neck and it was so fucking sexy, it was driving me insane. I loved the way her lips and tongue worked over me, and when she sucked my earlobe into her mouth, I growled out, "Fuck! Bells! That feels so fucking good!" and then her tongue was all over my ear, tracing it and licking it and her hot breath was blowing on the wetness her tongue left behind. I groaned; I was going out of my mind wanting her. I felt like my cock was going to explode, the head was so swollen. I couldn't take it anymore, and I took my fingers out of her and grabbed her hips, flipping her onto her back, and laying over her. My forearms were around her shoulders and I leaned down to attack her mouth with my own. She was surprised, but only for a moment, then she met my need with equal ferocity. I could feel her pelvis thrusting up against me, so I put my knee between hers and spread her legs. She let them fall wide apart and I nestled my hips between her legs. I used one hand to grab onto my hardened length and lined it up with her entrance, rubbing the tip against her blazing core.

We broke the kiss and I looked directly into her eyes, while she looked back at me. When I pushed into her, I was overcome with the physical sensations; her heat was so all-encompassing as it wrapped around my rigid rod, I felt as though it covered my entire being. She moaned and mid-way through, it turned into my name. I was groaning and mumbling, "Bells. _Fuck_. Bells. So wet. So hot." I sank all the way into her and just held my position. I knew she needed to adjust to me, but also, if I had moved right then, I might have lost control and just started slamming into her with abandon. I didn't want to hurt her; I wanted to take her to heaven, like she was taking me.

It was overloading my senses – the perfume of her juices, the feel of being inside her, her walls clamping down on me, massaging my shaft and the fact that she was still looking me in the eyes was doing something to me, to my wolf. I couldn't break away from her gaze. I felt something stirring within me, but I couldn't identify it. Her wanton need was provoking her and she started bucking her hips into me, wanting me to move within her.

I could feel her arms around my ribcage, her hands on my back, her nails digging into me as she held on to me. I started thrusting, slow and deep. My knees were under her thighs and I shifted my hips, pushing up into her and twisting at the end. She gasped, "Fuck, Jacob! Ungh! Again!" I did it again and she screamed again, but never broke eye contact and that was turning my wolf on something fierce.

He was right at the surface; I had never felt him so close before, unless we were phasing. In fact, we were so close it felt as if we were sharing the same form. He was totally focused on Bella and we kept the pace, pushing deep into her, loving the moans and mumbling words she couldn't hold back. Her legs came around my waist, her heels digging into the small of my back, keeping me close to her. I shortened my strokes, and bent my head to catch her nipple between my lips and suck it into my mouth. She was moaning and pushing her hips up into me, begging for more, for depth. "Jacob! Please! Harder, Jacob, deeper! I need you, please!"

That was it. Hearing her begging for us like that, my wolf roared and so did I. I braced myself and started plunging my cock into her deeper, harder, faster, and growling louder without restraint. Bella was tossing her head from side to side and,screaming - sometimes my name, sometimes just unintelligible words. Until I felt her walls start shuddering around me, and her heavy breathing became quick panting, and I pushed forward into her depths once more, pushing my groin against her mound, and grinding into her clit. She screamed, "Jacob! Yes!" and I felt her spasm around me as she reached her climax. "Bells, Baby!" was all I could muster before I felt my own peak and spilled myself into her quivering chasm, and the wolf howled inside my head.

I managed to hold myself up so I didn't crush her, but only just. My body was touching hers everywhere and her hands were lightly caressing my back; that felt nice. I kissed her forehead and her cheeks and she smiled when I kissed her lips softly. We were both trying to catch our breath. I rolled onto my back, bringing her with me. She snuggled into my chest and I wrapped my arms around her, just enjoying having her there. I released a very contented sigh, watching my breath whisper through the strands of her silky hair.

My wolf was completely at peace. I don't think he had ever been this relaxed. I was feeling pretty relaxed, too, when my stomach made a deep, rumbling sound. Bells raised her head to look at me and giggled. _Jesus Christ, she's gorgeous_, I thought, seeing the slight flush in her cheeks, the warmth in her eyes, and her hair tousled around her face.

"Hungry for something else now, huh, Jacob?" her eyes alight with… something I couldn't name. I saw it, though, and in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to know every expression, every mood, every twinkle in her eye, _absolutely fucking everything_ about this woman. I was completely enraptured with her.

My stomach grumbled again, ruining the moment and reminding me that I hadn't eaten since before the airport. I looked at Bella, thinking it must have been the same for her, since we had been together this whole time and no food had been involved.

"Why don't we order some room service? I'm starving and you must be, too, but I have no interest in getting dressed and going down to the casino to get food," I said.

"Mmmm, that sounds good. I'm kind of hungry, too," she popped up, going over to find the room service menu near the phone on the desk. As she sashayed across the room, I watched her, appreciating the curve of her voluptuous ass and my pecker agreed with me, giving a little bob when she bent over to reach the room service menu. She turned and quickly returned to the bed, cuddling up into my side, where I wrapped my arm around her, loving the way she felt there. Her head was on my shoulder and I held the menu up so we could both look at it. "Do you want breakfast? It's nearly dawn, now," I asked her.

She said, "I know I shouldn't eat so heavy when I'm just going to go to sleep, but a bacon cheeseburger sounds so good to me! And fries, I need fries, for sure."

I chuckled, kissing the top of her head, "Bells, you just took first place as the sexiest woman I've ever met. That sounds perfect." I reached over and grabbed the phone's handset from the nightstand and handed it to her, pressing the keys for the room service order desk. "Make it two, but I need an extra burger, hold the onions on both of them, and a Pepsi. Tell them we'll pay cash." I got up and went to the bathroom.

When I came back out, she had ordered the food and was hanging up the phone. She told me it would be 20-30 minutes, then excused herself to the bathroom. I sat up and leaned against the headboard, just taking it all in. It was almost 5 in the morning, and it would be at least 6 before we were done eating. I couldn't believe how much had happened in less than 12 hours. I got up to grab my wallet and phone from my jeans pocket and sent Embry a quick text to let him know that I was at the hotel and I had the rings, so he could stress himself out about something else now. I pulled a couple of twenties out of my wallet and set them on the nightstand.

Bella came out then and crawled across the bed towards me. I felt a smile spread across my face, "Oh, Honey, you look so fucking sexy like that. What's going on in your head?"

She giggled and said, "How about I show you what I'm thinking about?" She dropped a kiss on my chest, and then started spreading them out over my pecs and abs, going across my chest and slowly moving down. I could feel the blood filling my shaft, bringing it to attention again. As her lips ghosted over my hip bone, she licked her way across my pelvis to the other and then I felt her teeth graze it, as she sucked harder. She held her hair back to see if she had left a mark. I didn't tell her, but even if she managed to leave a hickey, it wouldn't last long. I pushed a strand of her off her face and said, "Bells, you don't have to do this."

She looked disappointed, "I know I don't have to, but I want to… unless you don't want me to?"

"Honey, I can't think of anything I want more, but it won't be long before the food shows up."

She smirked, "I better hurry, then." Before I could blink, she wrapped her hand around my cock and stroked it. I closed my eyes and groaned and then her sweet lips kissed the head. It jerked in her hand. She tightened her grip, and then her warm little mouth was over the cap, running the tip of her tongue around the opening and then under the rim, before sucking me into the back of her throat. _Fuck! Where did she learn that?!_ I was rock hard, and she wasn't slowing down. Her hand was holding my shaft and stroking it up and down, and her mouth was over the top of her hand, so that when she twisted her wrist and went down, her mouth followed. It was so fucking hot. She was using the right amount of pressure and suction and I wanted to thrust in response. I put my hand onto the top of her head, letting her hair tangle into my fingers. My breathing was speeding up and she increased her speed, too. _Fuck!_ It was going too fast, I wanted it to last longer, but she was too good, she was pulling me along like she had a map to my orgasm. It felt so fucking amazing when she sucked me into the back of her throat, and then I felt something massaging my tip. _Holy Fuck, that's her throat closing on my head!_ And then I did thrust, because I couldn't stop it. She moved with me though, and then she was sliding her lips up over the head and down the side of my length, still gripping and pumping with her hand on the other side. Her tongue was playing around the base and then she put her other hand on my sac, cupping my balls and massaging them gently. I moaned, and pleaded with her, "Bells, please, Baby, let me have you. I need to be inside you."

She looked up at me, winked and then she opened her mouth, going back down onto my dick and seeing her do it with such relish, had me pushing myself into her again. She used her hand to squeeze and release as she slid it up and down, and her mouth was right there, with firm pressure and just the right suction. She was still fondling my balls with her other hand. She picked up speed and I couldn't hold back, I was growling through another ejaculation, and she swallowed over my tip again, causing me to jerk and push into her mouth again. She sucked and licked until I had to stop her because the head was hyper sensitive. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and smiled up at me. I smiled back and she came up to kiss me.

I've never let a girl kiss me after she sucked me off before, but for some reason, it didn't bother me when Bella did it. In fact, it felt really intimate and sexy. She was sitting on my lap and her hands were on my shoulders and I was holding her waist, while we kissed, when there was a knock on the door. "Room Service!" a male voice called out.

Bella tried to climb off me, like she was going to go to the door and I pulled her back onto the bed. "Jacob!" she said, surprised, "I need to get the door!"

"You're not going anywhere near that door. Get under the covers, I'll get the door."

She gave me a look that said she thought I was being silly, but I didn't care; I wasn't going to let another man anywhere near her right now.

"Be right there!" I called out, grabbing the twenties off the nightstand; I grabbed my jeans and threw them on quickly, buttoning just the top button. I went over to the door and handed the guy the money, told him to keep the change and leave the cart.

He smiled happily, and turned back down the hallway. As soon as he was a couple doors away, I brought the cart in and pushed it to the middle of the room.

Bella came up to me and put her arms around my waist, looking up. I looked down smiling, and bent to kiss her again. I hugged her to me, and asked her if she wanted to eat in bed or at the table. She said the table, she didn't like crumbs in the sheets, and then she put her tank and boy shorts on again. I pouted at her, but she laughed and told me she wasn't eating her messy burger naked. I guess I could understand that.

We ate quickly; we were both starving. While we ate, we chatted comfortably, but by the end, she couldn't stop yawning. I was feeling pretty well spent, too. I put the plates back on the cart and pushed it into the hallway.

"Bells, I can only sleep a few hours and then I'll have to go meet up with my brothers for the wedding. Can I stay here with you and sleep for a little while, or would you rather I go back to my room?" I waited for her answer, hoping she would ask me to stay.

"I'd like you to stay, Jacob, if you want to," she said, quietly.

"I would definitely like to stay," I told her. I took my jeans off and slid in between the sheets. I called the front desk and left a wake-up call request for 10am. She took her tank and panties off again, and crawled into the bed, pressing her body against me, and lifting her face to mine. I held her head, and kissed her softly, gently twirling my tongue with hers. When the kiss ended, she rolled over and I wrapped my arms around her and spooned her. "Sweet dreams, Honey."

"Mmm, they will be. Goodnight, Jacob," Bella said, softly.

I felt completely relaxed and swiftly fell into a deep sleep, lulled by the low hum of our connection and the sound of her heartbeat next to mine.


	5. 5 - The Flop

**Disclaimer:**_ All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

A/N - Holy Brain Block! I know, this took forever to get out, but I swear, I have been trying all this time. I don't know what happened... maybe it was too much lemon juice, but I just couldn't get Bella to talk about what happened the next morning!

I fixed her little red wagon, though, by writing a creepy little flash fic about home invasion. It was violent and ugly and I guess I scared the piss out of her, because that night I got the idea of how to move the story forward.

So, thanks for your patience... I can't wait to see what you think of it!

* * *

The Flop

I felt extreme warmth surrounding me, and I curled myself into it. I felt good, really good, and the heat behind me felt really good, too. I could feel warmth encompassing my breast, kneading it, with a soft squeeze to the tip every so often. _Mmmm… that feels nice_, I thought as I instinctively pushed my chest into the feeling. I could feel something hard pressing against my ass, more heat, and that buzzing that kept happening. I felt it gently rocking into me, so I rocked back into it. My breathing got heavier, as the buzzing grew more intense. My back was arched so that my breasts pushed into the massaging sensations and there was warmth on my hip, holding my lower body so that it was undulating against more heat, pushing up against me, back and forth. I moaned, it felt so good and I wanted more, so I pushed up into the feeling and the buzz got stronger.

I could feel more heat, softly running up and down my thigh, over my belly, down, _unh_, down between my legs, spreading me open like a flower in the sun. I moaned again, breathing faster and then there was a wet heat on my shoulder and it moved to the back of my neck. I arched my neck so I could feel more of it, and I did; it moved slowly over the curve and under my ear. I was panting and my hands reached up behind my shoulder, finding softness between my fingers, so I grasped it and pulled it closer to me. I heard and felt a low groan and then my breast was being kneaded more firmly. Hot breath skated over my ear and into my hair, and then the heat and the buzzing became more intense, and the only thing that was on my mind was _more_.

My leg was lifted up and then I felt the most delicious sensations at my core. I was wet, very wet, and then there was more heat, and thick, firm flesh pushing into me a little at a time. _Ungh. Mmm. Yes._ I was twisting into the buzzing and the pleasurable sensations, writhing my hips; everything I felt was hot, every_where_ I felt was hot – hot breath over my moist skin, hot hand groping my breast, hot hand under my thigh. I could feel something hot inside me, too, and that's when I opened my eyes.

Jacob was behind me, spooning me, kissing and licking my neck, shoulder and back, his arm was under me and his hand was across my chest, squeezing my tit and tweaking my nipple, while his other hand was holding my thigh up and his pelvis pushed against my ass, sliding his hot, thick shaft into me slowly. I moaned, and rocked back against him, turning my face up towards him. I reached back with my hand and felt his thigh muscles tensing under my fingers, as he thrusted up into me. _What a wonderful way to wake up_, I thought fleetingly, as I dug my nails into the side of his firm, round ass cheek. "Oh, Jacob, _God_, you feel so good inside me," I cried, arching further into him.

"Christ, Bells, you were dreaming about us. You kept rubbing your ass into me and moaning, begging me to take you, and Baby, I just couldn't stop myself. You're so beautiful, so _goddamn_ sexy, and I just," he pushed deeper into me and swore, "oh, _fuck!_ I just **needed** you." Jacob was whispering into my ear, while he pumped himself into me. I was panting with pleasure and I reached back for his hair, bringing his face up where I could see it, "Jacob, kiss me! Kiss me and fuck me harder!" He growled and crushed his mouth to mine, devouring me as he rammed me harder. I answered his need with my own, biting his lip and sucking his tongue into my mouth, feeling his groans reverberate through his chest and across my back. I felt the buzzing running through me like an electrical current. I met his accelerated movements with my own, and he broke our kiss to moan out loud, "God, Bells, you're so tight, so wet, _ungh_."

And then he shifted us just a little, moving my leg higher so he could move with more strength. He propelled his stiff shaft into me, gliding in and out easily, creating a delicious friction. He was driving into me with such force; the tip of his rod was so deep inside me, touching something I hadn't known was there. I was moaning, loudly, with wild abandon, calling his name, calling for God, and just when I was reaching my pinnacle, he pinched my nipple and scraped his teeth over the curve of my neck.

My mind shattered with the all-consuming sensations. I came so hard, I screamed. My body seized with the power of my climax, and I was helpless to control it. My vision blurred and all I could feel was the rush of my orgasm, my body convulsing around Jacob's magnificent member, until I felt my womb fill with liquid heat, and I knew that Jacob had reached his peak alongside me.

We laid there together, still entwined, movements winding down, Jacob's mouth gently sliding against the skin on the back of my neck, our breathing slowing, and returning to normal. The buzzing was cycling down, becoming a low hum again. I was still trembling and twitching with aftershocks when Jacob whispered against my ear, "You're absolutely incredible, Bells. I've never felt anything as amazing in my entire life as I feel being here with you."

I closed my eyes. The sex was mind-blowing, that much was certain. I don't know what the connection is between us; I could only guess it was lust – unprecedented in my own life and obviously noteworthy in his, but still just lust.

I had never felt _anything_ like this before. I'd never had an orgasm with a man before, and the ones I had alone weren't even comparable to what Jacob had evoked from me.

I had never _done_ anything like this before, either. I could so easily get carried away by the power of these feelings and believe that there was something real between Jacob and me… but I struggled to reign in all those extra emotions. I didn't want to ruin it and have it end early.

_This is Vegas. This is a weekend fling. I don't really know this man. We're going to have a great time together, we'll have some more great sex if he still shows up at the club, and then we will both go back to our regular lives. Don't get confused, Bella. This isn't real. This is Vegas._

I turned my head and smiled at the man who'd just taken me to my sexual nirvana. He sent that gorgeous grin back to me and then leaned down to kiss me again. It was soulful and sweet. _I could kiss him for hours_.

Before we could get too carried away in that moment, the phone rang. I scrambled to untangle myself from his limbs but he just pulled me tighter to him, instantly halting my progress. He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the handset, growling a hello into it. He responded to the automated voice and then hung up the handset.

"Baby, that was my wake-up call. I have to get going and meet up with the pack so we can head to the wedding venue and get ready." He sighed, "I would so much rather stay here in bed with you for the rest of the day, but I can't miss this wedding." Jacob cuddled me closer to his chest and I relaxed my body against his. _God, we fit together so nice, I could just stay here forever_.

My eyes flew open, and I shook off that foolish thought. _This is just for the weekend, not forever. Get a grip, Bella!_ "It's okay, Jacob, I understand. I still need to let my friends know that I'm here and meet up with them anyway." I looked up at his handsome face, throwing him what I hoped was a sexy smirk, "I'm going to grab a shower. Care to join me?"

His eyes darkened immediately with desire and I _loved_ that I had that effect on him. "Well, I need a shower, too, so I guess it doesn't make a difference if I do it here or in my room," he leaned down to press his lips to my throat. I moaned, but pushed him back.

"We'd better get moving, or you'll be late and then Embry will kill you," I giggled.

Jacob's eyebrows shot up, "You remembered his name?"

"Well, yeah, you told me about him last night. And I think I remember that my mother watched a soap opera when I was a kid and one of the main characters was called Embry," I told him.

Jacob threw his head back and laughed, "His mother named him after that guy! You have no idea how much shit he took for that in school." He continued, chuckling, "When you meet him later, make sure you tell him that!"

"Oh, do you think he and his new wife will go to the club tonight with you and your other friends?" I asked.

I saw an odd look cross his face, gone as quick as it came. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to figure out what it meant.

"No, I don't think he will. I just expect that you'll meet him at some point," he said. He stood quickly, scooping me up, cradling me to his chest and stalked towards the bathroom. "Come on. I want to see what you look like soaking wet and pressed up against the shower wall." My head fell back and I sighed, imagining him taking me again in the shower. He pulled me up higher attacking my throat with his mouth, as he carried me into the bathroom and kicked the door closed.

* * *

I was lying on a chaise lounge by the pool, wearing my green bikini and my darkest sunglasses. I was soaking up as much Vitamin D as could break through my thick layer of spf 50 sunscreen, and I felt drowsy in the warm sunshine so I closed my eyes.

As soon as I did, my mind started replaying bits of my morning with Jacob. I smirked a little, thinking about how surprised he was when I dropped to my knees in the shower and started sucking him off, slow and steady, changing my rhythm when I could feel his scrotum tightening in my hand. He had loved it, I could tell. Even though I was happy to stay there and finish him off, he had lifted me up and impaled me onto his erection, holding me there while he pumped his hips at a frantic pace, bringing us both to another earth-shattering climax. I could feel tingles running through me, just thinking about it again. He had told me I looked like a wet dream when I was thoroughly soaked from the shower. I was mesmerized by the water cascading over his muscles in little streams and thinking about it again was making my bikini bottom damp.

Just then, I felt someone leaning over me. I opened my eyes and reacted with a startled gasp as I saw two faces extremely close to mine. I immediately started laughing uncontrollably, as two of my best friends broke into smiles above me. "You guys!" I managed to croak out through my laughter, "You nearly scared the piss out of me!" Still chuckling, I sat up as they backed away, and sat on the lounge chairs on either side of me.

Angela laughed with me, "Bella, I will never understand why you start laughing when you get scared." Grinning, I shrugged my shoulders and chuckled again. I don't know why I do it, either, but it happens every time. The more scared or startled I am, the more I laugh.

Amanda rolled her eyes, "We just have to hope Bella never gets attacked in a dark hallway, because she doesn't even scream. No one can hear you gasping, Bella! You have to expel an actual noise, so someone can rush to your aid! How else will you ever meet your knight in shining armor?" I grinned at Amanda's teasing.

"Bella's hero won't be riding up on a white horse; he'll show up with a basket full of Kong toys for her fur-babies!" Jessica joined in, as she plopped herself down next to Angela. We all laughed together at Jessica's crack at my well-known devotion to my job and the animals I take care of.

Brushing off the good-natured teasing, I asked, "Where's Mike? We need to talk about tonight! I have something to share with the class!" At that moment, I felt soft hands go around my eyes, and giggled. "Mikey! You have perfect timing!"

Mike came around from behind me and sat down in front of me. "Bellini! I didn't think you'd ever get here!" he said, leaning over to kiss my cheek.

I kissed his cheek, and said, "Well, you know my flight was cancelled last night. I ended up sharing a rental car with a man from the flight and we drove together. We got here really early this morning and basically checked in and went straight to bed." I couldn't contain the sneaky little grin that crept onto my face.

Amanda shot me an astonished look, "Bella? Are you saying you drove from LAX, through the desert, at night, with a stranger? Are you fucking serious?" Her tone was stern, but her volume was low. The others looked at her, then at me, completely shocked.

I took a breath, and replied, "I know, it sounds crazy, and under ordinary circumstances, I would never do anything like that. But he's a very respectable person, not creepy at all, and the rental car agency took all his information, along with mine, so there was a paper trail tying him to me, _and_ I sent a pic of his driver's license and all the info on the agency's form to my email and yours, just in case. But none of that was necessary, I assure you." I paused for a moment, and continued, "Anyway, you were the ones challenging me to step outside the box and do something spontaneous and 'un-Bella', if I remember correctly."

Amanda shook her head in protest, "Bella, that's not what I meant, and you know it! That could have been the last ride you ever took! What the hell were you thinking?!" Ange and Jess were nodding in agreement, and Mike was staring at me, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

My eyes went down to my hands in my lap and said, "I'm perfectly fine, nothing happened. Like I told you, he's a decent guy, and he was in a hurry to get here for his best friend's wedding. He's the best man and had the rings with him. He paid for the car completely, and even did all the driving. In fact," I looked up and glanced at each of them, "that's the thing I need to tell you all. I invited him and his friends to meet us at the club tonight. The more the merrier, right? So, did you decide where we're going?"

They were all looking at me with blank expressions. Mike spoke first, "Bellini. Let me see the picture of his driver's license that you took." All my girls perked up at this, and started agreeing that they needed to see the picture, too. I smiled wide, and reached for my phone, "Okay." I pulled the picture up and resized it around Jacob's handsome face, licking my lips when my gaze fell on his mouth. _He has the sexiest set of lips I've ever seen_. I smiled at the picture, and then passed my phone around.

The girls started teasing me, like I knew they would, going on about how they now understood why I would put my life in danger the way I did, and how good-looking Jacob was, and that they would have happily jumped into his car, too. I couldn't help but blush, since his appearance wasn't _exactly_ why I'd gone with him, but it was a small part of it. And of course, they didn't know yet what all had happened between us since the moment we'd met, less than 24 hours ago.

I decided to give them their gift. "Well, ladies, I'm so glad you approve after all, because when Jacob and I talked about my birthday party plans, we agreed that he and his friends would join us. He also made mention of the fact that they all looked a lot like him." I paused for the fan girl response and I wasn't disappointed.

"Bella, are you serious? There are more like him? Oh my God!" Jessica squealed.

Angela just smiled, "How many tall, muscular, handsome, hopefully single friends is he bringing?"

Amanda had a devious look in her eye, "I'm happy to hear that because I can see from the smile on your face that you have dibs on this one already. Jacob, you said?"

Mike sighed, "I don't guess any of them swing my way, huh? Oh, well, Las Vegas is a big city, I'm sure I can find someone to keep me company."

I chuckled, "Yes, Amanda, Jacob is already spoken for, thank you. He told me of at least five friends that were single and would probably join him. Oh, and maybe a girl, too, but he wasn't sure. Mike, I didn't ask if any of his friends were gay, I'm sorry. It just didn't really come up. So, where did you all decide on for this night on the town? I have to text Jacob and let him know where and when, so he can let his friends know."

Jessica bubbled, "Oh, Bella, you won't believe it! We got table service at LAX at the Luxor, so we'll get to go straight in, and we'll have a reserved table in the special lounge with a DJ and a bar, and then dancing is in the main part of the club. Amanda got the concierge to hook it up for us by flashing her cleavage after he told us it would be too late to get reservations!" She winked at Amanda, who shrugged, "I know those concierges can make anything happen, they just need the right motivation."

Ange rolled her eyes, "Anyway, the club doesn't even open until 10:30 pm so we should be able to do our spa day, get an early dinner and then a nap before we go out."

"Yes," Mike chimed in, "we need naps for sure, because I want to go to Body English at the Hard Rock and it's open until 4:00 am. So, we'll do LAX first, and then after a few hours, we'll hit Body English."

I didn't know anything about the clubs in Vegas, except that they had high covers, expensive drinks and you were expected to dress way up, or they wouldn't let you in. But it was my birthday and we were all splurging on this trip and had agreed to spend whatever it took to have the party weekend we wanted. I was excited to wear my new club dress that I had bought special for this trip. I asked what time we had appointments at the spa and I was told 3:00 pm. That was perfect, because I was getting a little hungry and I wanted to get some lunch, have a couple drinks and take a swim before we went. Mike said he was hungry, too, so we decided to order to the pool so we wouldn't have to all get changed first. My first drink of the day was a delicious frozen fruity thing that the waiter had recommended. In fact, it was so good, by the time lunch was over, I had 2 more. I decided to stop and have water after that, because I couldn't feel my cheeks anymore.

During lunch, I had texted Jacob to let him know the clubs we were planning to be at, and when. I was so hoping he would still want to go, but I wasn't sure that his friends would agree to it. I was also a little worried that since we'd already slept together, he might not be interested in seeing me again.

I was happily surprised when he texted back and let me know he would be there with some of his friends. I smiled, and I couldn't help thinking about him and the way it felt when he was touching me.

I looked up and Amanda was staring at me, with a knowing grin. I glanced back down at my phone and cleared the screen. Amanda sidled up beside me, "Whatcha doin', Bella?"

I peered up innocently, "Just checking the time, Mandy. What're you doing?"

"I was just wondering if you were ready for another drink. Then we can take a dip in the pool," Amanda smiled.

I knew she was up to something, but I did want another drink; it was sweet and refreshing. She waved the waiter over and we got another round for the table. That had to be the last one for a while though, because my cheeks were getting numb, which is the first step to drunk for me. I made a snap decision about a conversation I'd had with Amanda last week when we were talking about being in Vegas.

"Amanda," I said softly, "do you remember what we talked about doing while we were here?"

She looked at me with an excited smile, "Are you for real, Swan? Don't toy with me, now!"

I grinned, "Yeah, I am. I decided. Let's do it!"

She jumped up, squealing, "Drink up! We're going now, before you change your mind or chicken out!"

I threw my head back and laughed. Her enthusiasm was infectious. Mike wanted to know what was going on, and Jess was staring at Amanda. Angela had her mouth open, "Bella! You're not really going to, are you?"

I smiled at Ange, "Yes, I am! I have wanted to for ages, but I could never decide what to get. Now, I know."

Jess looked at me, smiling, and Mike was getting mad because no one had told him what we were talking about. Amanda lifted her glass and sucked on her straw until we could hear it gurgling on air and the dregs of her drink at the bottom of the glass. She set the empty glass down with a satisfied 'aaahh' and turned to Mike, "Mikey, we're going to get tattoos. Want to come with?"

Jessica squealed and clapped her hands, "Oh, yay! I was hoping you'd say that! Come on, let's go, so we can get back in time for the spa!" Ange looked around nervously, and Mike was quietly debating the idea. I looked at Ange and told her she should come with us, even if she didn't get a tattoo. She could hold my hand while I got mine. Mike chimed in that he would go too, and decide once he got there. He said, "If I'm going to commit to a piece of art on my body for the rest of my life, I have to be very certain I'm going to love it forever."

Amanda laughed and said, "I'm going to get a rose on my left tit. Then, when I get old and my boobs sag, it will be a long-stemmed rose. I've got it all planned out. I'm going to be the coolest bitch in the nursing home." We all burst out laughing, and then Jess said she wanted a butterfly on the back of her shoulder. Mike rolled his eyes and mumbled, "So original!" and Jess smacked his arm. Angela was still looking tense, and I tried to comfort her. "Ange, if you don't want one, you don't have to get one. It's no big deal, really."

She looked down, and said, "I'll go. I'd like to see what they have." We all got a surprised look but didn't say anything. Ange was really shy and easily intimidated, so we didn't want to make a fuss about it and scare her off. "Ok, that's great! Let's all go get changed and we can go. Amanda, did you already have a place picked out or do we need to ask Google?"

Amanda flipped her hair and said, "Leave it to me. Let's meet up at the concierge desk in 45 minutes. Can everyone be ready by then?" We all agreed, grabbed our things and headed to the elevators.

I was just out of the shower, drying off when I glanced in the mirror. I knew what kind of tattoo I wanted to get, but I wasn't sure where to put it. I looked at my reflection and thought about my arm or my shoulder. As I did, the towel dropped and I decided I wanted to get it on my left hip. It might hurt a little more there, being a sensitive spot, but it would also be kind of private, and maybe a little sexy, too. It would only be visible if I was wearing a bikini or low-waist shorts or jeans. I liked that idea. And if I wanted to show someone, I could do that without having to take my clothes off. Smiling, I skipped out of the bathroom to throw some clothes on. I chose a loose tee and some elastic waist-band shorts that would be easy to pull away for the tattoo.

I was pulling a brush through my hair when there was a pounding on my door. I jumped and ran to the peephole. I giggled and pulled it open for Amanda. "I'm almost ready and I still have 15 minutes! Why are you here?"

She walked into the room and raised an eyebrow at me, "Bitch, please. You are going to tell me what happened with that sexy piece of man-meat you spent all of last night with, and don't even try to play me! I know you did something, I smell it on you!"

I dropped down on the bed, laughing, and she just crossed her arms staring at me, waiting for me to talk. I sat up still laughing, scooted back and patted the bed for her to join me.

"Mandy, oh my God! How the hell do you know? I swear, you're part witch!" I took a deep breath, faced her head-on, and said, "Fine. You win. Yes, something happened." I looked her in the eyes, "But don't call him man-meat again. He's a person, a really great guy, not one of your battery-operated boyfriends you keep in the box under your bed."

Amanda looked at me with surprise, then shrugged and said, "You're right, I'm sorry. So, what happened with the really sexy, really gorgeous, really great guy you spent all of last night with?"

I grinned, "Well, you remember that I promised I would try to be more spontaneous this weekend?" She nodded. "Well, the rest of the weekend should be cake, because I already did the biggest un-Bella thing I could have possibly done. I left the airport with a man I'd never met before and when we got here last night, or, well, really early this morning, I guess; anyway, when we got here, we checked in, and he walked me to my room. When we were at my door, I invited him in… and he didn't leave until this morning, right before I went down to the pool to meet you guys." I held my breath and waited for her reaction.

Her eyes were huge and she grabbed me by the shoulders, "Bella! You didn't! Oh my God, you slut! You slept with a stranger! A totally hot, sexy beast of a stranger! I'm so proud of you!"

We fell apart laughing and I felt like my cheeks would split, I was smiling so big. "My friend, you have _no_ idea! He is so beautiful, and so perfect; he should come with a warning label: **This man will ruin you for all others, proceed with caution**. I'm not even kidding. I have **never** felt like that with anyone else before. I can't imagine anyone else ever making me feel like that again, either. This can't possibly be normal. It was so freaking intense." I exhaled and fell backwards on the bed.

Amanda was looking at me, "Bella, oh my God, did he make you cum? Did you finally get to have an orgasm _during_ sex?"

"Mandy, I don't even _remember_ how many times he made me cum. He kissed me and, I swear, I blanked out. I couldn't think of anything beyond what I was feeling. This man is a sex god! He's over six feet tall, and he picked me up while we were kissing and pushed me into the wall. It was like a movie, he was grinding on me and I was hanging on him, with my legs wrapped around him and…" I felt myself blush, "then he put me on the bed, and he went down on me. No one has ever done that to me before, Mandy. I came so hard, I saw stars and colors. No lie. It was... incredible." I sighed.

Amanda was staring at me as I raved about Jacob and his masterful skills in the sack. "Oh, Bella, I'm so happy for you! It's about time you found a man to fuck you senseless. You totally deserve it!" Her words were crass, but her smile was sweet, and the look she gave me told me that she meant what she said in the nicest possible way. "And he's meeting us tonight? Are you guys hooking up again?"

"Well, yeah, I mean, it was his idea and he seemed like he was really into meeting up with us. I guess I don't know for certain that he wants to hook up again. I mean, we may get to the club and he'll see someone he likes better and take her back to his room, instead." I shrugged. "But I think he wants to see me again. I think it was as intense for him as it was for me." I didn't know how to explain that extra connection I felt with Jacob when he was touching me and I didn't want Amanda to think I was being sappy.

I stood up and brushed my hair a final time, sliding into my flip-flops. "Come on, Girly, we better get downstairs." I grabbed my purse, phone and room key, and we headed to the elevators.

On the ride down, Amanda kept looking at me. "What?!" I said to her, "Why are you staring at me?"

She turned towards me, pulling me into a tight hug, "I'm just so happy for you. I'm totally thrilled that you're loosening up and doing something fun and spontaneous for a change, but I'm also thrilled that you finally got a decent lay. No one should have to live through the depressing examples of robot sex you've told me about." I rolled my eyes at her over-exaggeration. Slight over-exaggeration. "And I can't wait to meet this guy's friends!" We giggled together as the doors opened, and we walked over to where Mike, Jess and Ange were waiting for us.

Amanda had worked her breast magic with the concierge again, and gotten us appointments at what he claimed was the best tattoo shop on the strip, and a van cab was waiting to take us there. Amanda's chest carried enviable clout, apparently.

When we got to the tattoo shop, _Inkredible_, which I thought was very clever, Ange and Mike sat down and started going through the portfolios that were out on the tables. I had the image I wanted on my phone, so when I met with the artist who was going to give me my first tattoo, I pulled it out to show him. He smiled at me, said it was good and he thought he'd be able to draw it out easily. He asked me where I wanted it, I pointed to my left hip, and he nodded, asked me to have a seat while he did the work up and had me send the pic to his phone.

Amanda was talking to her artist and she was touching her left breast, showing him where she wanted her rose. He was smiling and nodding, and I shook my head. Amanda either didn't notice or didn't care, but I figured it was probably not the first time he had worked on a someone's swimsuit parts and that's what she wanted so, whatever.

Jess was talking to a woman about the butterfly she wanted to get on her shoulder. The woman was showing her some different butterfly designs and Jess was trying to decide between three of them. She waved me over to help her choose, and we picked one that had lots of pretty, bright colors in it and a strong black outline with long tendrils off the wing tips and the antennae. I told Jess I thought it would look really pretty flying up and off her shoulder and the artist agreed with me.

The artist who was going to do my tattoo came out with a couple of pieces of paper for me to look at. He had taken the image I sent him and hand-drew what could have been an exact duplicate. I couldn't believe it, and I looked up at him with surprise. "That's amazing! It looks like you printed a copy!" and he chuckled at me, "Nah, I did it freehand, but I did another one with some little extras I thought might look good. You can go with whichever one you like, and we can add or subtract details from them. Make sure you are really happy with whatever you decide, because that's exactly what it's going to look like on your skin and it's permanent. Once it's on, there's no going back without expensive, painful laser surgery, or more ink as a cover-up. I don't like it when my work gets covered up, so let's make sure it's precisely how you want it, okay?"

He handed me the other page and my jaw dropped. He had taken the image I gave him and brought it to life. Stenciled on that page was the most beautiful, majestic looking wolf I had ever seen. I had decided on a wolf for my tattoo because of my love for my job and my fur-babies. If I did go back to get my DVM, I wouldn't be able to keep my job in the same capacity. I'd have to go to part-time, and then I would probably get moved to a different department. Then, as a DVM, even if I was able to get a position at the same zoo, I wouldn't see the wolves and the foxes daily anymore; I'd only see them if they were sick. I would miss that part of my job a lot, so I thought a tattoo was a good way to symbolize my love for George and the rest of the wolf pack currently in my care.

I almost got choked up looking at the piece of art this talented man had drawn for me. I looked at him, and whispered, "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He smiled broadly, asking me if there was anything I wanted changed. I looked down at it again. It was perfect. The wolf was large and sturdy looking, with a well-defined coat; it was as if you could reach down and run your fingers through his fur. His head was big and it looked as if he was walking and then swung his head to the left to look at something. His shoulders were slightly hitched, and the ears were perked up. The eyes were amazing – intelligent, expressive and the perfect shade of coffee brown, outlined in gold. The wolf's coat was reddish-brown, with a big, bushy tail that appeared to be mid-swish. It was the exact thing I didn't know I wanted. "I want this one, it's amazing! I don't want to change anything, I love all of it!" He grinned proudly, and asked me to follow him to the back. I turned and looked at my friends. Ange and Mike looked up at me, and I told Ange if she wanted to come find me when she was done, she could. She smiled and waved at me and bent over the book again. Mike winked and said he was still trying to find something that moved him. Jessica had already gone to get her butterfly and Amanda was waiting for her artist to come back with the stencil they discussed. She knew I wasn't going to tell them what I was getting; I had wanted it to be a surprise. I smiled at her and turned to follow the artist to the back.

Two hours later, we were jumping into a van cab, trying to get back to the hotel. The tattoo had taken longer than I expected, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Amanda had worked her concierge friend over the phone and gotten him to re-arrange our appointments at the spa. I gave up my hair appointment to keep the massage, mani/pedi and bikini wax. I told Amanda she was going to have to do something nice for the concierge because he'd been taking great care of us since we'd arrived, and I felt like we were getting VIP treatment from him. She said not to worry, she had it under control. I shrugged and left it with her.

Everyone loved my wolf, and couldn't get over the realism. Jessica made a joke about him guarding my hoo-hah and we all cracked up laughing.

I couldn't believe it, but Angela had actually gone through with it and had gotten a tattoo. It was so cute, too. She had gotten a little brown owl on her ankle. I asked her why, and she said that the owl is symbolic of wisdom, knowledge and intuition. She thought that sounded right for her, and I agreed.

Mike had deferred on getting a tattoo, stating he hadn't found anything that 'threw him on the floor' and we all laughed. That was Mike's little saying for something that made a big impression on him. Jessica's butterfly was gorgeous and she was really happy with it. She was glad she had packed a halter dress that hooked behind her neck and wasn't going to rub on the tattoo at the club.

I immediately thought of my dress and realized it was perfect, because the soft, purple fabric was loose at the front of my body. It was a pretty dress that hung almost solely from my shoulders. The straps that went over my shoulders connected to the back and side of the dress, so that it was virtually backless, the material gathering loosely at the small of my back, almost like a cowl neck. It did the same in the front, but at the center of my chest, the folds dropped into a V between my breasts. It was a drop dress, with no fitted lines and it barely came to mid-thigh. I loved the way it felt, and the way it moved with me; I was excited to wear it tonight.

Amanda said she was going to pop into one of the dress shops at the hotel, because she wanted to wear something that would show off her rose and the dress she brought would cover it up completely. Mike said he would go with her to make sure she didn't get carried away.

We hurried through the casino to the elevators and waited impatiently. I realized I had been in Vegas for 12 hours and hadn't so much as put a quarter into a slot machine. I opened my mouth to say as much, but then thought about how I'd spent at least half my time here, and smiled, deciding immediately it was better spent as it had been. I could gamble later. My time with Jacob had been the best bet I'd ever made, and I was thoroughly satisfied with the payout so far.

We rushed into the spa and apologized to the receptionist, waiting to be chastised for our tardiness. She was surprisingly polite, brushing off our requests for forgiveness and offering us a beverage selection. We all chose champagne, and we were directed to a changing area where we could find robes and lockers for our things. When we were in our robes, the attendant said we could double-up on services so that we didn't have to miss out on anything. They had been unusually under-booked and had the staff available to help us keep up with the original schedule. We glanced at each other and agreed. We all had some kind of massage, mine was Swedish. I also got a bikini wax and while I sat in the pedicure chair, another girl gave me a manicure. Jess had gone with a manicure while she got her hair styled, and skipped the pedicure, since her shoes were closed toe, anyway. Angela was hesitant to stick her foot in the pedicure tub because of her new tattoo, and I didn't blame her, so she got her hair done with a manicure, too. I figured I could get Amanda to braid my hair for me later, to keep it up and out of my face during the evening, so I skipped the hair style. She had come in so late from her impromptu shopping trip, she skipped the massage altogether, and just got a mani/pedi and a bikini wax, too. She said she had high hopes for the rest of the evening and that was the hairstyle she cared about. I about died laughing and the poor salon attendants were trying so hard not to laugh, one of them spit the water she was sipping into her hand. The whole time we were there, everyone was so nice, they kept refilling our champagne and offering us snacks. I loved the entire experience and decided this kind of splurge was going to happen more frequently in our lives.

When we came out of the salon, I had a champagne buzz and I wanted to get some dinner before we went back to our rooms for our party naps. Amanda said we were supposed to meet at Mike's room because Mike had been to the men's salon and men were always done first. Mike had gotten a haircut, a straight razor shave, and manicure. He said it was the best shave he'd ever had and that it would definitely not be the last time he did that.

We had decided earlier to go to a restaurant off the casino for dinner that didn't require reservations because we hadn't been sure what time we were going to eat. We headed down, everyone feeling refreshed and excited for the night's activities ahead of us.

We had a delicious Italian dinner, talked and laughed and drank too much wine, but I thought it would help me fall asleep. I hadn't slept much last night - no, this morning - but I was really excited about the upcoming events. I was thrilled with my tattoo and looked forward to wearing my new dress at the ritzy night club, and I couldn't wait to start dancing, but the thing I anticipated most of all was seeing Jacob again. I was missing him like crazy and that buzz I'd felt when I was with him, when he touched me, seemed to be running through me again but instead of a steady hum, it was erratic and it was making me edgy and anxious. I wanted to see him and touch him and I was starting to feel impatient about it. If I hadn't been as tipsy I was, I probably would have worried about that.

We left the restaurant and walked towards the elevators finalizing our plans. We agreed to meet at Mike's room again, and I asked Amanda if she could come to my room early and do my hair for me. She agreed and went to go visit with her concierge admirer again to arrange for a ride to the club. I watched her walk away as we got into the elevator. When the doors shut and the buttons were pushed, I leaned over on Mike's shoulder and closed my eyes. He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close. "Too much wine, Bellini?" he chuckled softly. I giggled, "Nope. Just enough." Jess and Ange were leaning on each other, too. "I will definitely need to put in a wake-up call, or I'll sleep right through and miss the party!" Jessica agreed, and Angela thought she'd be okay with her cell phone alarm. Since they'd both gotten their hair done, and didn't want to mess it up, they were going to try to sleep sitting up and propped on a bunch of pillows. I was glad I didn't have to worry about that, because after the massage and all the champagne and wine, I was really happy about crawling into bed and cuddling into my pillow. Then I pouted, thinking I'd rather cuddle up with Jacob.

As the elevator opened and everybody filed out, we kissed each other's cheeks in the hallway and I went to my room. I toyed with the idea of calling Jacob and asking if he wanted to come take a nap with me. I quickly dismissed it, because I knew that he was probably still with his friends, and if he did come to my room, we would probably end up not sleeping.

I couldn't resist sending him a text, though. I got into my room, took off my clothes and slipped into the covers. Calling the front desk, I made the request for the wake-up call and looked down at my cell. One little text wasn't going to hurt anything. _I'll just re-confirm that we're meeting up and let him know that I'm still expecting him_. I tapped the keys and hit send.

**We're still on for tonight, right? My friends and I are looking forward to hanging out with you and your friends. :-)**

I had just plugged my phone in to charge, and snuggled into the pillow, when it lit up and vibrated against the night stand. I picked it up and smiled, opening the text from Jacob.

**I'm looking forward to seeing you… on my lap, riding me until I make you scream again.**

I felt heat run through me and, instantly my panties were damp. I wasn't sure how to respond. I reminded myself that this is my weekend fling and I could be sexy and spontaneous. I looked down at my phone and swyped my reply.

**Mmm I was hoping for a dance… but your idea sounds like more fun ;-)**

I held it there for a minute, trying to think of something better to say. Something sexier, or more clever, but I drew a blank. Maybe I did drink too much wine.

I sighed. It wasn't the wine's fault, it was mine. This kind of thing was just out of my league. I am not good at flirting. I rolled my eyes, and clicked send, just to get it over with.

I put the phone down and closed my eyes, but before I heard the phone buzz again, I drifted off, thinking of Jacob and the way it felt to fall asleep in his arms.


	6. 6 - Check or Call

**Disclaimer:**_ All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

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A/N - Hey! Hi! How are you? Remember me? Yeah, I'm that slacker that hasn't posted since the beginning of summer. Sorry. I suck, I know. I really did have like 2/3's of this written already, but the end (or rather, the middle of the whole 'scene') just wouldn't happen. I don't know, I can't explain it, but I would sit and stare at the doc and get a migraine. Finally, this weekend, I was able to sort of re-frame the layout and then I found a way to push through. And I've already started on the next chapter, which I'm both hoping and expecting to get through a lot faster. (I know, I could hardly do it slower, right?) Anyway, if you're not too pissed at me, and you're still waiting around to see how this plays out, here's the next bit. It's a hefty chunk, too, nearly 9k words. Hope that makes up at least a little bit for the long pause.

I need to drop a shout out to my ff-bff Tonyamic10 for being patient and persistent in her encouragement for this chapter. Thanks for pushing just enough, and for making me feel like my brand of crazy is normal. You rock, Friend.

Big shout out to my beta, my bday sister, and my sounding board, Cat (Rhodes11) for telling it like it is, and always jumping through a hoop for me. I heart you, Kitty Cat!

Oh, and I always forget to say thank you to the guest reviewers! I try to respond individually to reviews, but of course, I can't do that with guests, so if you're an anonymous reader and you've left me a review, Thank you very much! The reviews really do feed the muse, and the good ones let me know I'm not writing total slop, so I'm always grateful to get them.

If you've left a review and you have an account and I didn't answer, I'm very sorry, and Thank you very much, too. I have an ongoing snafu with my email notification settings from another site and currently my gmail is full of duplicate and in some cases triplicate notifications. It's sort of overwhelming, and I've been kind of ignoring my gmail lately bcuz I can't figure out how to fix it and it's really hard to wade thru all that crap.

Ok, so now that I've kissed your ass in great detail, I hope you enjoy the next installment. If you do, I'd love to hear about it in that box at the bottom.

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Check or Call

I hurriedly went to my room to drop off my things before I met Embry at his room. I had told him I had a car, and we decided that we would drive over to the wedding chapel by ourselves, the rest of the guys were going to cab it. The girls were going to have a limo take them all, after they were done at the spa.

I tapped the rings in my pocket, confirming they were there, added my room key and pulled the door closed behind me. I checked my texts for Embry's room number and headed down the hall. I don't know how Chrissi managed to get all of us on the same floor, but she seemed to always get exactly what she wanted with service people.

I knocked on Em's door and he opened it, turning back into the room. I followed him in and he said, "I'm ready, Jake, I just need to get my shoes on and grab my wallet."

"It's cool, Em, we're good on time, I think. How far is the chapel?" I asked, leaning a shoulder against the wall.

"Chrissi said it's just a little ways up the strip, so hopefully not too long. I have the address in my phone," Embry said, as he slid into his shoes.

"Dude, I gotta tell ya, I'm a little worried about this thing. I know she took our measurements and everything, but we're all big guys. Do you really think they're going to be able to outfit us on site? I'm worried we're all going to end up at the altar in our regular clothes because the tuxes are too small," I told him.

Embry shook his head dismissively, "Chrissi is all over it, Jake. You know she's gonna make sure that it all turns out exactly the way she wants it. If she wants us in tuxes, they'll fit."

I glanced over to him, and raised a skeptical brow. He seemed a little tense, but I chalked it up to nerves, "You're right, of course. I mean, this is Chrissi we're talking about." I grinned at him, hoping to set him at ease. "It's kind of weird not having to do anything except show up. I don't even know what kind of wedding you're having. Is Elvis going to be the minister?" I chuckled.

Embry looked at me, and then away shiftily. "No, it's not Elvis. But I know that this is the wedding Chrissi wants, and that's all I care about. This is her day, and she gets to call the shots, no matter what, right?" he said, glancing at me again.

Something was up; I could tell by the way he was acting. I couldn't imagine what it could possibly be, though. I shrugged, and said, "Yeah, sure, man. She's the blushing bride, right?" We both chuckled at that. We'd both known Chrissi since the first day of school and it seemed sometimes like her and Embry had been together that long, too. Blushing was never something that had been a problem for Chrissi. She was like one of the guys up until middle school, when she hit puberty and we all noticed she was a girl. After that, she started hanging out with the other girls more, but she was never someone who was easily embarrassed or shocked at bawdy humor. It's one of the things we all liked about her. When she and Em had started dating the summer between middle school and high school, we were nothing but a bunch of goofy teenage boys, making jokes that were always either about farting or sex. Chrissi had shown us quickly that she could handle us and gave it back as good as she got. Later, when things got a lot more complicated, she proved it again, by standing faithfully by Embry and never wavering in her devotion to him, or us. We all loved Chrissi and had a lot of respect for her. I knew the guys would make sure she got the wedding of her dreams; Embry had nothing to worry about. "Relax, Em, it's all good. We'll take care of Chrissi. She's pack, man, we've got her back."

Embry nodded, looking only a little less tense. We left his room and headed to the elevators. I told him that when we were heading out through the casino, I wanted to grab some food. "Why, did you sleep through breakfast?" he chuckled.

I dodged the question by reminding him that I drove into town early this morning. "Oh, yeah, what happened, anyway? How come you ended up driving in?" he asked me.

I hesitated for just a second, unsure how to explain everything that had happened to me since that moment in the airport less than 24 hours ago. I explained about the cancelled flight and then took a deep breath, "So, I needed a credit card to rent the car, and I didn't have mine with me. They wouldn't take a debit card, or cash, either. There was this woman that was supposed to be on the flight with me and I just asked her if she would like to share the ride to Vegas, if we used her credit card and I paid for the car. She agreed, and we drove here together. That's why I have the car."

He looked me in the eye, "You're telling me that you asked a woman you didn't know to drive to Vegas with you. And she agreed? Damn, Jake, you are the ultimate ladies man! No wonder Paul gets so pissed when you guys go out together! You can get a woman to agree to anything!" he laughed, pushing the elevator button.

As the doors shut, I turned to glare at him, "I didn't con her into something sleazy, you jackass. And she's not some bimbo in a bar, either. She's a really nice person who was meeting her friends here for her birthday. We rode here together because the arrangement worked out for both of us."

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself. I don't know why, but Embry even vaguely grouping Bella in with the women in bars that were picked up for a night of casual sex pissed me the fuck off. Gritting my teeth to keep from ripping him a new one, I caught him looking at me quizzically, trying to figure out why I was so angry. "Whoa, Dude. Chill, man; I didn't mean to piss you off."

I exhaled loudly and shook my head, "Sorry, Em, it's just… this woman, Bella, she's something else, man. Different, y'know? She did me a huge favor by helping me rent the car. And she trusted me without knowing me, which was kind of surprising and awesome. We talked a lot on the way here, and I got to know her, a little. I can't have the trash talk on her, man. She's not like that." I wasn't sure what to say here. Bella was definitely not just some random fuck, and I wanted that to be clear, but I wasn't ready to tell anyone about what had happened between us, yet, either. It was more than sex, I knew that. For fuck's sake, the wolf had tried to mark her; there was definitely something more going on between us.

Shit, when I had pulled off her neck before we could bite down, he was incensed, but when Bella climaxed on me, he focused all his attention on her. If I hadn't blown my load right then, he might've tried to take over, but he calmed down fairly quickly after that. I needed to take some time and really think about what all this meant, but I hadn't had time yet, and I didn't want to discuss it now with Embry, either. It made me feel like I had to defend it, and wasn't about to defend something that felt so right.

Embry was trying to read my face, so I looked him dead in the eye. His gaze dropped and his head listed to the side, submitting. Satisfied, I waited as the elevator doors slid open. "It's cool, we're cool, but don't do it again." I stepped out into the lobby and I squared my shoulders, preparing myself to walk through the casino and its overwhelming cacophony of lights, sounds, and smells. I saw Embry do the same, and as we walked towards the check-in area, a sandwich shop sign caught my eye. I tipped my head to Embry, and we headed there. I ordered a couple sandwiches for myself and Embry shook his head, indicating he didn't want one. I assumed his nerves were starting to get to him. I grabbed the bag with my food, and we walked quickly through to the check-in area and out the doors to the valet. I gave the guy my ticket and we waited outside, just absorbing the sunshine. I turned and looked at my best friend, the man I'd known since we were both toddlers in diapers, and said, "Fuck, Dude! You're getting hitched today, man!"

He turned to me with a surprised look and laughed, "Yeah, that's the plan!"

We both grinned and I clapped a hand over his shoulder. "I couldn't be happier for you, man. It's about time, too." He nodded at me, smiling like an idiot. Or like a man in love. The two things were often interchangeable.

They pulled up with the convertible, and I walked over to it, palming the valet his tip, and sliding into the driver's seat, as Embry climbed into the passenger side. "Nice ride, Brother."

I grinned and tapped the dashboard. "She's a beauty to drive. Now, how about we fire this baby up and see what she's got? Enter the address of this place into the GPS before Chrissi starts calling to find out where we are." Embry hurriedly pulled his phone out and started rattling off the address, while I keyed it into the nav system.

We weren't on the road for very long, before I noticed Embry breathing deeply. I took a whiff and realized what he was scenting – Bella. Her scent was clinging to the inside of the car, and it was slightly enhanced by the arousal that had been generated between our roadside kiss and our arrival at the hotel. "Shit, Bro! That's her scent? Fuck, I can see why you like her. If I wasn't getting married to the love of my life, I'd -"

"Don't fucking do it, Em! Don't finish that sentence. I'd hate for you to show up at the altar with two black eyes," I growled at him. I didn't want another man scenting Bella's arousal, and it jacked me up fast.

He looked at me, surprised again, "Jake, what the hell, man? Why are you ripping at me every time we talk about this girl?"

I felt bad. I had been a bit defensive with Embry and he hadn't really done anything. He had no way of knowing that Bella was more than just some girl. How could he? I hadn't told him anything.

I sighed. "Sorry, Bro," I ran a hand through my hair, while steering with the other, "Listen, there's something I need to tell you. Bella, she and I, well… I'm planning on seeing her again. Tonight, actually. She's here with her friends and they're going to a club for her birthday. I told her I'd meet her there and bring some of my friends. There is something special about her, and I just feel… protective of her; a little proprietary, too, if I'm being honest. I can't explain it, but I am so into her, and my wolf, man, he's _really_ into her, too. I really like this woman, Embry. There's something going on between us that is next level and I don't really understand it yet. I just need to be with her again, and see if I can figure out what it is."

Embry was gawking at me. I tried not to take it to my ass, and reminded myself that he had never known me to get attached to any woman, ever. I mean, there had been girls I liked, and I had certainly had my share of club hook-ups, but knowing about our special brand of 'matchmaker-dot-com' as a wolf, I had refused to get emotionally involved with any woman. I knew that it was likely there was an imprint waiting somewhere for me, and I didn't want to do that to someone else, or to myself. Plus, since I couldn't share my true self with anyone, it made it hard to have a real relationship, and frankly, would require more effort than I wanted to put in with someone who was just going to have to go away at some point, anyhow.

Embry cleared his throat and looked out the windshield, "I don't know what to say, Jake. Except, I wish there was somewhere around here we could phase. I would love to see the woman who has you so twisted up," he smirked.

I laughed, and the nav system told me that our destination was on the right. Turning in, I found a parking spot. Glancing around, this place was huge. It was a really large building, two stories, and it looked like one of those super-size box stores. I looked at Embry, and he shrugged. "Chrissi found it online. They have a bunch of different chapels inside. They do theme weddings."

Alarm bells went off in my head, as I looked at Embry, trying to figure out what he wasn't saying. "Theme weddings? Is that what we're doing, Em?"

Embry looked at me without flinching, "Jake, we're doing whatever Chrissi wants. This is her day, remember?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Absolutely, Embry. Whatever Chrissi wants. A little warning might have been nice, though." As we got out of the car, I watched him. I had a bad feeling about what was waiting for us inside.

"It is what it is, Brother. Come on, let's get in there and get this party started," Embry headed for the front door, and I was right beside him. He was my best friend, and I was his best man. I would make sure that he got his special day, too.

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After Embry spoke with the woman at the check-in counter, she paged someone to take us to the chapel room that was reserved for his wedding. We did our level best to contain our laughter at the guy wearing the cupid costume, but since we had to walk behind him and he was wearing wings and a giant diaper, it was pretty much a wasted effort. He glared at us when he opened the door and stepped aside, and we tried to stifle our chuckles, but in the end we just apologized quickly and went into the room. He may have offered his congratulations and best wishes, but his tone didn't really convey sincerity.

The door clicked shut behind us and we both looked around the room with awe. It was completely believable that we had just walked into the throne room of a giant castle. I was amazed at the realism; it was really impressive. The walls looked like stone, and there were medieval looking pieces of furniture placed around the room. Heavy ornamental tapestries were hung on the walls, and huge painted portraits of what would assumedly be royalty. There were small glass containers holding bouquets of wildflowers with added white lilies scattered throughout the room. As I walked further into the chapel room, my eyes took in more of the really intricate mouldings at the corners and the ceiling. As an architect, I could appreciate the attention to detail, especially considering that each wedding chapel must have been designed differently to accommodate the different themes for each room.

Embry waved me over to a door on the right side of the hall. "I think this is where we'll be getting ready. The clerk at the front desk said the girls will have a room on the other side that has an entrance from the hallway, too, so that they don't have to be seen before the ceremony." We went into the lounge and saw lots of scattered chairs and sofas, and a huge flat screen TV hanging on the wall. There was a long rack against the back wall, with black zippered bags hanging on it, which I supposed held our tuxes. On the opposite wall, there was a fully-stocked bar, and a table. I turned to look at Embry and raised my eyebrows, "This place is great! Your wedding is going to be awesome, Em! And the reception is here, after the ceremony, right?"

Embry nodded at me, and pulled his cell out, and dropped into one of the overstuffed chairs. "The other guys should be here any minute."

I grabbed a couple beers from the bar, handed one to Em, and sat on a sofa, pulling one of my sandwiches from the bag. Our metabolism was too high for a beer to make a dent in our sobriety, but there's something relaxing about having a beer with your buddy, even if it's only psychological. Besides, Embry was looking more and more nervous as the minutes ticked by. I knew it wasn't cold feet; Embry had wanted to marry Chrissi for years. She was the one that had wanted to wait until she was graduated from college and had a couple years in as a teacher. She was the science teacher at the middle school on the res and she gave a lot of her personal time to tutoring students after class, not to mention the nights and weekends I had seen her at their dinner table grading papers and making lesson plans. Teachers worked a lot more than the hours they put in at the school and Chrissi had said she didn't want to be so caught up in wedding planning that she slacked off in her first year. So she waited until her second year.

I finished off my first sandwich in a half-dozen bites, and washed it down with half a beer. As I crumpled the wrapping, I glanced at Em, and he was staring at the TV he hadn't turned on yet. "Embry?"

"Yeah, Jake?" he replied, without looking at me.

"What's wrong? You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

Em's head snapped toward me, "Of course not! What's that supposed to mean?"

I fought back a grin, "Nothing, man, but you're acting weird and watching a blank screen."

Embry dropped his head into his hands. "I guess it's time to tell you," he huffed out a huge sigh.

I was reaching into the bag for my other sandwich, and I froze. "Tell me what?"

Embry got up and started pacing the room. I watched, and waited, downing the rest of my beer.

"Jake, remember how you said it would be whatever Chrissi wanted today? Whatever makes her happy?" he looked up at me, simultaneously hesitant and hopeful.

"Yeah…" I waited for the punch line.

"Well, Chrissi found this place online and she thought it was so great, because, you know, they do these special theme weddings, and they take care of the ceremony and the reception, and all she had to do was go through and make her choices from the selections offered. She loved that she didn't have to organize things with a bunch of different places, like florists and caterers and whatever. So she told me about it and she was so excited, because it was so much easier than she had been thinking it would be, and it was going to be different, and fun and not some boring, same-as-everybody-else's kind of wedding. She was just so happy, and so I agreed to the whole thing, because I could see it was what she really wanted. Plus, she thought it would be so fun to have the whole pack in Vegas for the weekend, that she figured the guys would be open to the idea." Embry rushed through the words, and I waited for him to breathe.

Based on the medieval style room we were in, I had assumed it was going to be your basic princess gimmick, but seeing Embry's agitation and thinking of what I knew of Chrissi, a princess wedding didn't seem likely anymore. Chrissi had never been a princess type and Em was really nervous now. "Embry. What is the theme for your wedding?" I asked him, quietly.

Embry looked down at the ground. "It's a movie theme, Jake. It's Chrissi's favorite movie."

My eyes never left his face and he finally made eye contact with me. I whispered it at the same time that he said it.

"Braveheart."

I laid my head back on the couch and looked at the ceiling. "Embry, those aren't tuxes in those bags on the rack, are they?"

"The top half is a tux."

I recalled that a lot of the accents in the castle room had been green and blue plaid. Oh, crap, and near the organ, there had been a bagpipe sitting on a stand. I sat up and looked at Embry. "Are you putting the pack in kilts, Em? Is that what you're not telling me?"

"No, Jake. _Chrissi_ is putting the pack in kilts. And she fully expects everyone to participate. Will you make sure they do? Please? It's her wedding day, Jake, and this is what she wants. I couldn't say no. You understand that, right?" Embry eyes begged for understanding, for reassurance, and most of all, for the option of an Alpha command, should one of the guys try to reject the kilt idea.

I sighed, and shook my head. I hated using Alpha commands and the whole pack knew it, and appreciated it. What the groom was asking me to do was in direct conflict with my leadership style. I closed my eyes, kept my head down, and I spoke in a low voice, "Don't worry. Chrissi will get the wedding she wants. Get me another beer while you're up, will ya?"

He had a beer in my hand before I could sit up. "Thanks, man, I really appreciate it. Chrissi is so excited about this. Thank you so much."

I took a long drink on my beer and set it down. Opening my other sandwich, I said, "You never know, I may not have to do anything. They might all do it without the order."

Em chuckled darkly, and sat back down. 'Yeah, sure, of course they will."

A few minutes later, we heard the pack entering the main room and there was a chorus of voices, commenting on the castle design, and making guesses to the theme that Chrissi had picked. I was throwing my food trash away, and the beer bottles into the recycle bin provided, and Embry was walking towards the door.

I glanced curiously at my friend before he opened the door to let the men know where we were. "Em, how on earth did you keep this secret all this time?"

He glanced at me ruefully, "It wasn't easy. After Chrissi told me what her idea was, I told her she should choose whatever she wanted, and then I put it out of my head. I refused to think about it beyond the fact that we were getting married; never any details." He chuckled. I laughed and told him he was a genius, as he opened the door into the main room.

We all greeted each other and the guys all started telling me what I had missed during their bar crawl the night before. I listened to their stories, and laughed, but I couldn't bring myself to really wish I'd been there. I had been having my own special night, and I wouldn't trade my time with Bella for any amount of strip clubs or barflies.

* * *

After we'd finished catching up, Embry explained how we had this lounge area to change in, hang out in and keep our stuff, until it was time to start receiving wedding guests. The staff was going to provide snacks later, and then after the ceremony, the seating would be changed to tables for the reception.

The groomsmen were going to be me, as the best man, then Quil, Jared and Seth. Sam and Paul were going to be ushers, and Colin and Brady just got to be along for the ride. Sam told us that Leah had gone with the other women to the spa. Jared asked Embry why the room was set up for so many people and Embry told us that Chrissi had to reserve for a larger group so that there would be enough food provided during the reception for the pack. The facility would just think that a lot of guests didn't show up, but we would take care of the excess food. Quil looked at Embry, "You're a lucky bastard, you know that? Only Chrissi would think of something like that." Embry just grinned and headed to the lounge.

Quil passed out beer and everyone was checking out the lounge. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, so I pulled it out to check it. I smiled at my phone when I saw it was a text from Bella. I read it and sent a reply. There was no way I wasn't going to be there tonight. I could hardly wait to see her again. I was pretty sure I could get at least a couple of the guys to go with me, but I would be there no matter what.

My thoughts wandered back to this morning with Bella. Waking up to her rubbing her sweet, round ass against my morning wood had been so erotic. At first, I thought she was coming on to me, but when I heard her mumbling, I quickly realized she was sleeping, dreaming about the two of us. Her words were soft murmurs, and if I didn't have supernatural hearing, I wouldn't have been able to understand them. But I did and I could and it was such a turn-on. She must have been reliving some of our moments from the night before, because she was moaning and mumbling about the way my tongue felt in her slit. I grinned, proud and happy that I had given her pleasure that invaded her dreams. But the way she was moving against me was really turning my morning wood into a raging boner, and I tried to move back a little, not wanting to take advantage of her. It didn't seem right to touch her like that when she wasn't aware of it.

Until she got louder, begging me to take her, to fuck her harder, and the thrumming energy was increasing in pace and power. I didn't even realize that I'd been massaging her tit, rolling her rigid little nipple between my fingers, and caressing her thigh with my other hand. She was making me crazy and she wasn't even awake. I leaned down and ran my tongue over the smooth skin of her shoulder, kissing and licking my way to the back of her neck. God, she tasted delicious to me, like there was a fine dust of honey over her silky skin. I ran my hand over her soft belly, and down between her legs, over her soft folds. I pushed my fingers into her, breaking through the seal of her lower lips, releasing a fresh surge of the aphrodisiac that was Bella's unique scent. She was pushing herself into me, "Please, Jacob! I need you! Take me, please, I want you so much!"

I couldn't take it anymore! I _**needed**_ her, needed to be _inside_ her, so much I felt like I couldn't breathe. My cock was throbbing and it seemed to be reaching for her hot wet center. I was groaning and my wolf was close. Her scent had pulled him up and he was with me again, as I slowly started pushing my swollen head into her, just a little bit at a time. When I felt her juices leaking out onto me, I groaned, pushing into her again. She woke up then, and immediately told me how good it felt for her. Good didn't even begin to cover it for me. Now that she was awake, and I didn't feel like I was doing something wrong, I was thrusting into her with more gusto. She grabbed my hair and told me to kiss her, and then fuck her harder, and I lost it. I attacked her mouth, crushing my lips to hers and invading her soft warmth with my tongue. I lifted her thigh, giving me more accessibility to her sweet, slick sex. I shifted my weight a bit, and then I gained some leverage. I pounded into her and she responded with her own passionate desire. It was intense and I was drowning in the aroma of her arousal again. She was vocal and loud, two things I had never really cared about before, but with her, it made the whole experience even more sensual, and it was driving me on; I could feel her impending orgasm. I was fucking her hard and I wanted her to cum, I wanted her to feel mind-blowing pleasure and I wanted to be the reason.

I was going to suck on her neck, but when I put my mouth on the curve at her shoulder, the wolf pushed forward, and tried to bite down. I pulled my mouth off her at the last second, but I also pinched her nipple and that did it. She came and she came hard. She was screaming and the walls of her pussy clenched around my cock, and then I was shooting into her, white hot and thick, while her body shook in my arms.

I looked up and caught Paul watching me with narrowed eyes. I met his stare and raised my eyebrows. He walked over to me, grinning, and said, "So, was that a good text you got, Jake?"

I looked him square in the eyes, and said, "It sure was, Lahote. It could be good for you, too, if you're up for it."

Paul's eyebrows shot up, "How so?"

"Well, I met this girl last night, and she and her friends are going clubbing tonight. It's her birthday and I managed to get permission to join her party. I thought a few of us might meet up with them later tonight and check out the Vegas nightlife."

I had all Paul's attention, now. "Really? Was she hot? Are her friends hot?"

"_She_ is not your concern," I said firmly. "I haven't seen her friends, but she did tell me about them, and they sound really cool." Remembering that Bella said we'd be fighting over one of her friends, I said, "Oh, wait, she did tell me one of them was pretty hot. So, what do you think? You want to go clubbing tonight after the reception?"

Paul was looking at me, "Yeah, dude, I'm definitely down to hook up with some hotties and hit some clubs. So, what's up with the birthday girl? You got a vested interest?"

I looked at him directly and said, "Bella is the birthday girl, and she is most definitely off limits to you."

He tilted his head and held his hands up in surrender, "Sure, Jake, no problem. There's gonna be lots of women at the clubs."

I nodded at him and looked around, catching Seth's eye. He was looking at me with a question in his eyes. I figured this was as good a time as any. I walked over to him and Quil, and told them about the plan to go clubbing with Bella and her friends. They were both in agreement that it sounded like fun and Seth went to see if Jared, Colin or Brady wanted to join us.

I wanted to talk to Sam about the way my wolf was reacting to Bella. I wasn't sure if he would have any valid information to share, but it was worth a shot. Embry said he had stepped into the chapel room to take a call, so I went to find him.

He was sitting in a chair and had just ended his call. I walked over to him and sat down in front of him.

"What's up, Jake?" he asked me.

"Hey, Sam, I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions, man." He nodded in assent, so I kept going, "I met this woman last night and we really hit it off. She's so beautiful and interesting to talk to and we, um, well, we hooked up. The weird thing is how my wolf has been with her. He's reacting really strongly to her." I looked up at Sam then to see his brows furrowed at me. "What?"

Sam questioned, "What do you mean your 'wolf is reacting really strongly to her'? In what way?"

"Well, he wants to be close to her. If she's nearby, he wants to be right beside her, touching her. When I was kissing her, he was kind of aggressive and kept pushing me to be with her. He really loves her scent; well, we both do. She smells fucking amazing. And when we were getting intimate, he was… he was _present_ in a way he's never been before. He tried to bite her on the neck, Sam. He's never acted like this before and I don't really get what it means."

When I looked up, Sam was staring at me in shock. "Jake, did you imprint?"

"No, I'm pretty sure I didn't. I didn't have that whole 'gravity shifting' thing you and Jared had. I will say this, though - I've never been attracted to anyone the way I am to Bella. When she touches me, it's like I'm completely consumed with wanting her. I can't think of anything else, I can't feel anything else. Even just kissing her, it was overwhelming. It's like there's an electrical current that charges up and the more intimate we get, the stronger the current gets." I shook my head, not really knowing how to explain it.

Sam's eyes were wide. "Jake, your wolf, did he talk to you when you were with her?"

"Well, he didn't talk so much as he was… chanting. He kept saying the same words over and over. Why? What does that mean?"

Sam was staring at me, "What words did he say?"

I narrowed my eyes at Sam. This obviously meant something. "Uh, he said 'take' and 'mate' and, uh, 'fuck'," I dropped my eyes, "and he said 'mine' a lot. He feels very possessive of her." My eyes went back up to Sam's, "What does it mean, Sam?"

He just held my gaze, "Jake, are you sure you didn't imprint? 'Cause the way your wolf is reacting, it really seems like you did."

I ran my hand over the back of my neck and rubbed, sighing. "Sam, can you be a little more helpful?"

Sam sighed in return, "What you're saying to me, the way your wolf is reacting, and that electrical energy you're talking about? That's all stuff that happens with an imprint."

I was kind of stunned. I knew something was up with me and Bella, the intensity of our attraction was off the charts. But, an imprint? I had looked into her eyes several times, and while they were beautiful eyes, I had not had the moment of endless time that the other imprinted wolves had shown me when they imprinted. Although, now that I was thinking about it, last night, just when I pushed into her body, I remembered that we were looking into each other's eyes, and that we maintained intense eye contact for more than a few strokes. I had really felt the wolf pushing forward then. And this morning, he tried to mark her. Maybe the wolf had connected with something in Bella, but for whatever reason, the imprint hadn't happened.

I looked up at Sam, and he was watching me quietly. "Sam, while we were…" Sam nodded, knowingly, so I continued, "um, we sort of stared into each other's eyes. I felt the wolf pushing a lot right then. And then this morning, that's when he tried to mark her. I pulled away from her so he didn't get to, and he was definitely pissed off about that. He calmed down after, though."

"After?" Sam asked.

"Yeah… _after_…" I raised my eyebrows at him and kind of bobbed my head. It was so uncomfortable to talk about this with him! I'm not a bang-and-tell kind of guy. That was Paul.

Sam's lips turned up just slightly. "Right," he said, "after. Well, that makes sense, too. You didn't use a condom, did you?"

I frowned at him. How did he know that?

He said, "Your wolf is content because your scent will be mingled into hers. He wants to mark her, but until that happens, as long as she scents of you, that will pacify him."

"Ok, I guess I get that. I still don't get why he wants to mark her, though. If we're not imprinted, and we just met… why?"

"That I can't explain, Jake. But the urge to mark her? It's only going to get worse until you actually do it. And the compulsion you're feeling when you touch her? That will ease up, too, after you mark her. Everything you're telling me is exactly what I felt with my wolf when I imprinted on Leah. It's obvious that your wolf is connecting to something in this woman, like he's trying to imprint, but for some reason it's not..." Sam paused while he struggled to find the right word, "completing."

I thought about this. Imprinting was something that hung over all our heads. Knowing it could happen at any time and that we had no control over it, worried all of us, no matter how we tried to ignore it. I didn't know why mine wasn't 'completing' but as I thought about it, I saw it as an advantage. If it didn't complete, then I wouldn't be bound by it. She wouldn't be bound by it. We could go back to our regular lives and I would be free, no longer waiting for the axe to fall.

Then, I thought about Bells - the way she blushed, her giggle, her beautiful brown eyes that were the warm color of whiskey when it caught the light. I remembered how I felt this morning when I had looked into her eyes and wanted to know everything there was to know about her. Was that the imprint pull? I had been attracted to her at the airport, before I even spoke to her, and during our road trip, I had been enjoying getting to know her. And touching her, oh god, that had been extremely sensual and erotic. Maybe that part was the imprint pull, or maybe it was only part of it, but the rest of it, that had just been Bella and I was surprised to find myself reluctant to just let her disappear from my life. When I thought about being imprinted to Bella, it felt more like a blessing than a burden. I really did want to know more about her. So far, there hadn't been anything about her I didn't like, so I decided to take a 'wait and see' position. Nothing could be done at this moment anyway, and I was going to see her tonight. Satisfied with that decision, I huffed out a sigh of conclusion and told Sam we'd better get back to the group. I also asked him to keep this to himself for now. He asked me to let him know what happened and I said I would.

We walked back into the lounge. Embry caught my eye, and I knew he was waiting for me to tell the guys about the attire for the wedding. I leaned against the back wall, nodding.

"Alright, Guys, if everyone is done eating, we should probably start getting dressed for the wedding. I know you all know that Chrissi has arranged a theme wedding-"

Paul interrupted, "Yeah, what theme did she pick? I didn't figure Chrissi to be all into the princess frou-frou and you're certainly no Prince Charming!" he guffawed. Seth rolled his eyes and Quil was quick to join in, "Yeah, Em, are you going to wear a tiara?" he chuckled. Sam smirked, but didn't say anything. Colin and Brady were playing the X-box and didn't seem too interested. I watched Embry pinch his lips together and wait for the heckling to end.

"Actually, I was just about to tell you the theme. And it's not a Princess thing, Paul. No, Quil, I will not be wearing a tiara. It's a movie theme. Chrissi's favorite movie." He paused, taking a deep breath, "The theme is Braveheart."

Everyone's heads jerked towards Embry, including Colin and Brady's. Seth exclaimed, "_Braveheart?!_ The Mel Gibson movie?" Embry nodded. Seth's brow furrowed, and then he said, "It's a great movie, Em, and that's a cool idea… but we're Quileute, not Scottish." Embry just looked like he didn't know what to say to that.

I couldn't stop the chuckle that came out of me at that. Leave it to Seth to point out the obvious. I shook my head, and said, "Well, today we're going to pretend to be. This is the wedding Chrissi wants, so we'll all play along, right, Guys?"

Quil nodded, "Yeah, man, that is a cool idea! Do we get to paint our faces with blue paint, too?" Colin and Brady got excited looks on their faces and Embry just stared at Quil like he couldn't believe what he heard. I don't know why he was surprised. We've known Quil as long as we've known each other and he has no brain–to-mouth filter; this wasn't new information. Embry shook his head, "No, Quil, we're not painting our faces with blue paint." Quil opened his mouth and Embry spoke over him, "And you don't have to talk with an accent, either! We're not role-playing! It's a regular wedding, except the decorations, food and clothes are like what they would be in the movie."

Quil was visibly disappointed, "Aw, I wanted to be that Hamish guy! He was a badass!"

Jared snorted, "Ateara, you're more like the crazy Irish guy." Everyone laughed at that.

Sam shook his head at the whole conversation, and laughed, "Alright, that's enough. Let's start getting ready. I hope these tuxes fit." Embry and I made eye contact and then we started moving towards the rack of garment bags.

The guys all started shuffling through the hangers. Paul and Quil found theirs and pulled them off the rack. Sam passed Seth his, and took his own. Embry handed mine over and then gave Jared, Colin and Brady their bags. He left his hanging on the rack and just unzipped it, pushing the bag over the back of the hanger. There were a lot of zipper noises and shuffling as everyone took their tuxes out of the bag.

Of course, Paul was the first to comment. "Embry, what the fuck?! There's a skirt under the jacket, not pants! Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Hey, Guys," I addressed everyone, "this is what Chrissi picked out, and this is what you're wearing. No exceptions and no arguments." I said it firmly, but I didn't make it an order. I would if I had to, but I really did expect that they'd all suck it up and do it for Chrissi.

Colin and Brady were looking at the kilts with confusion. Damn, these guys really were too sheltered on the res. I shook my head at that thought and took my tux out of the bag. I laid it over the back of a chair and toed off my shoes.

Seth didn't hesitate to put the kilt on without complaint. You can always count on Seth to go with the flow. Sam was staring at it like he was afraid it would attack him if he turned his back on it. Quil was stripping off, and seemed to be excited to wear it.

Then I heard Paul swearing and looked over at him. "Braveheart? Really? We have to wear fucking skirts? If she wanted to do a movie-themed wedding, why couldn't she pick Dances with Wolves? What the fuck do we know about being Scottish?"

Before I could say anything, Seth responded, "Well, I know that it's not a skirt. It's a kilt, dumbass. It's only a skirt if you wear underwear with it. Which I'm not."

Immediately, Quil piped in, "Me neither!" and his Fruit of the Looms were flying through the air, where they landed on Jared. This caused instant retribution in the form of Quil's manties being shoved into his mouth, while Jared had him in a headlock. Paul and Sam busted up laughing and even Embry was cracking up. Colin and Brady had both whipped out their phones and were filming Quil's beat down.

I yelled out over the din, "I better not see this on YouTube later!" And Brady immediately said he thought he could edit it enough for a Vine. I didn't know what he meant by that, so I just shook my head and told Jared to let Quil go before he ruined his tux. Then I told everybody to get dressed, and that I didn't want to hear any more about the kilts. We'd all do this for the wedding and that was it. Quil coughed up his jockeys, told Jared he sucked, and then continued getting dressed.

Once I was dressed, I tried to discreetly shed my shorts, but Paul busted me, of course. "So, Jake, you gonna fly commando tonight, too? It'll make things a lot easier when you make your move on the birthday bimbo."

Before any of the guys could react, I was next to Paul, and my hand was around his neck, pulling his face close to mine. "Her name is Bella, Fuckface. Do yourself a favor and remember that, because if I hear you disrespecting her again, I will take a chunk out of your ass and serve it to you for breakfast," I seethed at him.

The room went silent and still.

I took a deep breath, pushed Paul away from me and turned away for a moment. When I turned back around, everyone was looking at me. I looked around and figured I'd have to tell them about her at some point, may as well be now. I didn't need to give them all the details, but some basic info would suffice. And I needed to make it clear that she was not going to be fodder for their stupid jokes. That proprietary feeling I had for her wouldn't allow them to disrespect her. Best if we got that cleared up right away.

"Bella was on the flight that was cancelled last night, so we rented a convertible and drove here together. On the way, we talked and got to know each other a little bit. I like her, and I don't want to get into all the details right now, but there is something special about her. Today is her birthday and she and her friends are going clubbing. I thought it'd be fun to join them, and she was kind enough to agree, so any of you that are interested in coming along, you're more than welcome. But **you will not say or do anything to embarrass her or make her uncomfortable. And you definitely will **_**not**_ **hit on her.**" I spoke calmly as I looked around and into each of their eyes. This time, it _was_ an order. Eight heads were all slightly tilted and looking at the floor. "Are we clear?"

Murmured agreements bubbled up through the tension in the room. I tried to do my part to break it.

"Jared, do you think you and Kim will want to go with us?"

Jared relaxed, shrugged and said, "I'll ask her, but probably not. She was complaining about having to leave the slots to go with the girls to the spa. I'm pretty sure she's going to drag me all over the casino tonight."

"Who knew she'd be such a slot jockey?" I chuckled.

"I know, right? But it does explain why I can't ever beat her when we play cards at home. She gets really competitive and a little scary," he shook his head.

Everyone returned to getting dressed. I had to admit, I had been nervous about wearing the kilt, but now that it was on, it was pretty comfortable. The knee high socks felt a little awkward, though.

Just at that moment, I looked up and caught Colin and Brady reclining back onto the sofa. I guess Seth had the wrong angle, because he had just looked up at them and he screamed, and clapped his hands over his face shouting, "My eyes! You assholes! Keep your feet on the floor and your knees together!"

That broke the last of the tension in the room as everyone broke into laughter. Quil quickly popped off, "Yeah, it's bad enough we have to see your junk when we exchange patrols! Save the peep show for the reception!"

Embry immediately yelled, "No! Do not be flashing your junk at the reception! Chrissi will have your ass!" Hearing himself a moment after the words were out, he yelled again, "Aw, Dammit!" while the rest of us completely fell apart at his gaffe.

Just when we were all calming down, that's when Cupid knocked on the door and entered the room with a cart to refill the mini-fridge and the snacks on the bar. I thought Paul and Quil were going to stop breathing and Colin and Brady didn't even try to control their laughter. The guy turned red and was fuming, trying to get everything unloaded so he could leave. I had to turn away so I didn't laugh in his face. I felt a little bad, but come on! There's just something so utterly ridiculous about a grown man wearing wings and a diaper!

Cupid stomped out and then we heard Sam say there wasn't enough money in the world to make him do that job and we all fell apart again. Jared said we shouldn't have laughed at the guy, considering we were all wearing skirts and knee socks, which got more chuckles.

It was good, though. Embry looked more relaxed and we were all in a good mood. Colin and Brady handed out beers and we all raised a toast to Embry and Chrissi. We talked, ate, and played video games for the next half-hour and then it was time for us to go into the main room and have photographs taken. We all took a shot and toasted our brother, giving him our best wishes for a happy future. The photographer knocked on the door, calling us out and everyone went out to the main room.

The picture taking was a little chaotic, but fun. I don't know how, but Quil talked Embry into having us all line up with our backs to the photographer and we all lifted our kilts and mooned the camera. Chrissi will love that, I'm sure. Jared and Paul immediately started taking bets on whether or not she'd be able to name us all based on the rear view. After the pictures were taken, we were asked to return to our lounge, so the bridal party could come out and take pictures. After that, it'd be about time for the guests to arrive.

Once guests started arriving, all the guys went out to the main room to help seat everyone and socialize a little. Not that it was a large guest list. It was mostly just Chrissi's family, Embry's mom, a few of Chrissi's colleagues and some of our friends from the rez.

Embry and I were waiting to go out until it was almost time for the ceremony to start. In the meantime, we decided to have a couple more shots and relax. Embry was ready. I clapped him on the shoulder and told him how genuinely happy I was for him that this day was finally here. He gave me a huge smile and thanked me. "One day, Jake," he said, "we'll be doing this same thing, but I'll be giving you shots and you'll be waiting to see your bride walking towards you."

Before I could respond, Sam poked his head in the door and told us it was time. Embry bounced up and headed out the door. I paused for just a moment before I followed. My mind was racing, because when Embry mentioned me waiting for a bride, I had instantly visualized Bella, in a flowing white dress and a wreath of flowers in her hair, carrying a bouquet and smiling as she walked towards me. I shook my head to clear it, and exited the lounge, pulling the door closed behind me and following Embry to the front of the aisle.


End file.
